The learning process continued for the young Perlas Pilipinas, as they fell to 15th ranked team in the world, South Korea, 91-63, Tuesday evening at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bangalore, India.
The Philippines ends its first-ever group stage appearance in Division A with a 0-3 slate. But this was the best outing for the Filipinas so far.
UAAP Season 79 Most Valuable Player Afril Bernardino filled up the stat sheet with eight points, five rebounds, two assists, four steals, and a block. Moreover, she was the only Filipina with a positive plus-minus, ending the match as a plus-1.
Perlas started off the game hot, converting on five of their first six shots. But after ending the opening frame tied at 19-all, the South Koreans turned it up.
The South Koreans were able to establish a 10-point lead to end the opening half and were able to follow it up with a decisive 19-2 rally to start the third frame to put the game out of reach.
Former Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraw Allana Lim paced the Philippines with 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting to go along with six rebounds. Former Adamson University Lady Falcon Analyn Almazan added 12 markers, while Janine Pontejos chipped in 10 points.
Kim Danbi powered the Koreans with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Park Jisu added 15 points.
The Philippines will face the 3-0 China on Thursday, July 27. China is the top-ranked team in Asia.
The Scores:
Perlas Pilipinas (63) – Lim 14, Almazan 12, Pontejos 10, Bernardino 8, Sambile 7, Cabinbin 4, Resultay 4, Miranda 2, Tongco 1, Dy 1, Animam 0, Castro 0.
South Korea (91) – Kim D. 19, Park J. 15, Lim 13, Kim H. 11, Sim 10, Kwek 7, Park H. 7, Kang 5, Boc 4, Kim S. 0.
Quarterscores: 19-19, 34-44, 47-70, 63-91.