It is mission accomplished for Gilas Girls as they ruled Division B of the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship 2023 after beating Iran in the Final, 83-60, at the Prince Hamzah Sport Hall in Amman, Jordan on Monday morning (Manila time).
Nevaeh Smith, Alyssia Palma, and Sophia Canindo powered the 11-0 run for a 74-51 lead with 5:17 left to play, enough for the Philippines to celebrate as it finally earned the promotion to Division A for the next edition in 2025.
The win couldn’t get any sweeter for the program after falling short in reaching the top-flight level in last year’s tilt, where a promising start to the tourney ended in heartbreaking fashion at the hands of eventual winners Samoa in the semis.
Smith led the Filipina dribblers with 21 points built on five three-pointers, including one that led to a four-point play to give her side their first lead of the game, 9-6, with 6:01 to go in the first quarter – a lead they’d never relinquish.
Ava Fajardo produced 12 points and nine assists, while Ariel De La O registered a double-double of 10 markers and 10 rebounds in the win.
De La O was part of the unit that started the second period with nine straight points for a 28-15 lead. They would stay ahead by double digits the rest of the way, even leading by as many as 27, 53-26, in the third canto.
(C) FIBA.basketball
Also part of the team are Ryan Nair, Demicah Arnaldo, Naima Navarro, Kimi Sayson, Isabella De Jesus, Scarlett Mercado, and Aubrey Lapasaran.
On the other hand, Helya Houdneh led Iran with 14 points and 16 rebounds in the loss. Fatemeh Jafari backed her up with 14 as well.
The Iranians actually tried to stage a comeback when they managed to chop the gap to just 12, 61-49, but Fajardo arrested it quickly with a jumper.
Then came the run by the aforementioned troika, and the result would never be in question as they eventually took the podium at center court.
Not only did they get showered by the shiny confetti but the team also basked in the cheers of the Filipino crowd that watched live — all while a remix of the electro house hit ‘Satisfaction’ by Benny Benassi blasted through the venue.
While it was atypical of the usual songs played for winners of a sporting finale, it perfectly encapsulated the significance of the Gilas Girls’ victory as they finally completed the redemption tour that was 13 months in the making.
The Scores:
Philippines 83 – Smith 21, Fajardo 12, De La O 10, Palma 8, Sayson 8, Canindo 7, Mercado 6, Arnaldo 5, Nair 4, Lapasaran 2, Navarro 0, De Jesus 0.
Iran 60 – Houdneh 14, Jafari 14, Dehyaghoubi 9, Zazerani 8, Bazoobandi 6, Zarei 6, Rahimi 3, Khorgoo 0.
Quarterscores: 19-15, 41-26, 59-45, 83-60
