Perlas Pilipinas ended their 2017 SEA Games campaign on a strong note as they tore Vietnam apart, 118-44, to keep their flickering medal hopes alive, Friday morning at the MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Filipina cagebelles’ 74-point rout, which serves as their bounce-back win after bowing to host Malaysia yesterday, revitalized their chances of bagging home a bronze medal. They will exit the biennial regional meet with a 4-2 card.
Cindy Resultay and Raiza Dy were the catalysts of Perlas’ balanced attack, scoring 26 and 23 points, respectively, on a combined 15-of-23 shooting from the field. The two dribblers conspired for 31 points in the first half alone.
Perlas got going in the second stanza after a slow start, leaving the Viets in the dust with an overwhelming 33-2 quarter outburst — punctuated by Dy’s basket — to conclude the first half with a commanding 52-23 lead.
It was then a Perlas show all the way through, only allowing their Vietnamese counterparts add just a total of 21 points in the second half. A Jack Animam three-point play in the closing seconds sealed the game’s final result.
Janine Pontejos supplied 15 markers for the Pinays, while center Clare Castro had 12 points. Analyn Almazan scored just six, but made her presence felt with 12 rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
No one from the Vietnamese side scored in double figures, with Thi Ngoan Huynh serving as their only leader with nine points and five rebounds.
The Pinays shot 51 percent from the field, with most of their shots accounted from their 25 assists. They also asserted mastery in rebounds, 46-33. Their stifling defense, meanwhile, forced Vietnam to commit 37 turnovers.
The Scores:
Perlas Pilipinas (118) – Resultay 26, Dy 23, Pontejos 15, Castro 12, Animam 8, Almazan 6, Bernardino 6, Cabinbin 6, Tongco 6, Abaca 4, Sambile 4, Lim 2.
Vietnam (44) – Huynh 9, Trat 8, Nguyen TCT 7, Bui THT 4, Nguyen TLV 4, Nguyen TTD 4, Bui KN 2, Linh 2, Nguyen NB 2, Tran 2, Pham TDT 0, Pham TTB 0.
Quartercores: 20-21, 52-23, 86-33, 118-44.
