Gilas Pilipinas Women opened its Southeast Asian Games three-peat bid in style by dealing a spent Cambodia a sound beating, 114-54, Wednesday evening at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh.
The Filipina cagers used a big second quarter to overwhelm the hosts and silence the raucous home crowd, going on a 36-11 scoring tear for a 58-31 halftime lead that set the tone for the lopsided affair the rest of the way.
Five players scored in double figures in the win, with Ella Fajardo leading the pack with 17 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
The heady playmaker shot a pair of three-pointers, one of which she made to open the second period that proved to be the spark of their 15-0 barrage toward a 37-20 lead to seize control of the game for good.
Jack Animam produced 16 points and nine rebounds in her SEAG comeback. Fellow vet Chack Cabinbin made 12 points, six assists, and four steals.
Afril Bernardino supplied 11 points, six rebounds, and four steals as well. Camille Clarin also registered 11 markers on three triples.
All 12 players were utilized by Coach Pat Aquino and scored at least three points in the victory that saw the crew dish out 27 assists, indeed a solid display of chemistry and dynamics against a team studded with naturalized players.
Their defense proved to be a big factor, too, as the crew collected 25 assists that led to 43 turnovers for the home team, which they turned into 43 points.
Gilas Women will try to make it two in a row against Singapore (0-2) on Thursday at 4 pm Manila time, a prelude to the men’s team’s duel with Cambodia at 6.
Mariah Cooks, meanwhile, had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Cambodia, who were coming off a 101-107 overtime loss to Malaysia 24 hours prior in a game that saw Coach Harry Savaya’s unit blow a 19-point lead.
Malaysia rose to 2-0 in the standings following a 75-39 win over Singapore earlier but is now sharing leadership of the standings with Indonesia, who also won its second in as many games after escaping Thailand, 70-69.
The Scores:
Philippines (114) – Fajardo 17, Animam 16, Cabinbin 12, Bernardino 11, Clarin 11, Pontejos 9, Berberabe 8, Castillo 8, Surada 8, Castro 6, Guytingco 5, Tongco 3.
Cambodia (54) – Cooks 18, Simmons 11, Hanlon 7, Dinkins 6, Jasmine 6, Theavuth 2, Vuoch 2, Sidtai 2, Leap 0, Huong 0, Sima 0.
Quarterscores: 22-20, 58-31, 90-45, 114-54.
