Gilas Pilipinas Women kicked off their 33rd Southeast Asian Games campaign with a come-from-behind victory, relying on a dominant finish to outlast Malaysia, 76–67, on Saturday at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok.
The win immediately gave the Philippines two points in Group B, where only the top seed is guaranteed a spot in the semifinals.
“They played their hearts out again,” said coach Patrick Aquino. “They never gave up. I’m just happy for them that they took out yung sabihin nating first-game jitters.
“I’m so happy. Malaysia played well — I want to commend them on that. They played hard. They didn’t wanna give up, and hopefully we’ll do the same thing over and over again.”
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Down 58-66 after Fook Yee Yap’s lay-up with 7:39 left in the fourth quarter, Kacey Dela Rosa’s inside points, Janine Pontejos’ three-pointer, and Sophia Dignadice’s free throws sparked an 11-0 run that gave the Philippines a 69-66 lead with 2:38 remaining.
Fook Yee Yap then split her free throws to pull Malaysia within 67-69 with 1:52 to go. But Dignadice’s jumper, Afril Bernardino’s free throw and lay-up, and Dela Rosa’s final basket sealed the win for Gilas Pilipinas.
For Aquino, it was crucial that his players stayed composed in the final minutes, as he felt they had been rushing plays earlier in the game.
“They calmed down,” he said. “They noticed pag lumalamang, gusto nila humabol agad kahit one basket pa lang. I told them to just slow down, gave a reminder on the basics of what we do, and fortunately, nagawa naman nila. Just thankful.”
Dela Rosa led the nationals with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and two steals, followed by fellow UAAP standout Louna Ozar, who contributed 13 points, six steals, and two rebounds.
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Seventeen-year-old Dignadice also stood out, posting 11 points, five rebounds, five assists, and a plus-17 in 22 minutes and 59 seconds on the floor.
Meanwhile, New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas Valkyries star Bernardino delivered an impressive all-around performance with nine points, 15 rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
Gilas capitalized on Malaysia’s turnovers, scoring 22 points off 26 errors, and dominated the paint with 36 points to Malaysia’s 18.
The Philippines is still waiting for Ann Pingol and Angel Surada, who are still in the Philippines as the UAAP Season 88 Women’s Basketball Finals are still ongoing.
For Malaysia, Fook Yee Yap led the team with 16 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists, followed by Sin Jie Tan’s 12 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
Both teams will next face Singapore at the same venue. The Philippines plays tomorrow at 10:00 AM (Manila time), while Malaysia follows on Monday.
The Scores:
Philippines (76) – Dela Rosa 21, Ozar 13, Dignadice 11, Bernardino 9, Pontejos 8, Cabinbin 7, Castillo 3, Heyn 2, Guytingco 2, Del Carmen 0.
Malaysia (67) – Yap 16, Tan S.J. 12, Hiew 10, Foo 8, Chyi 7, Hin 5, Tan S. 3, Chia 2, Wong 0, Chong 0.
Quarterscores: 18-18, 36-40, 56-60, 76-67.
