Gilas Women’s fantastic run in the 20th Asian Games has come to an end at the hands of Chinese Taipei, who bucked a slow start to frustrate the Filipinas, 83‑71, at the Aichi International Arena.
Gilas Women Start Strong, Chinese Taipei Respond
Gilas Women appeared ready for another stunner, scoring the first five points against Chinese Taipei and even taking a 9‑2 lead early in the first quarter. Afril Bernardino and Hazelle Yam connived in this strong start, with the former hitting a trey and the latter converting on back‑to‑back incursions.
Chinese Taipei, though, responded to the Filipinas’ fast start, unleashing a 13‑0 run to erase that early seven‑point lead and turn it into a 15‑9 advantage after one. The East Asian powerhouse continued to impose its will on the Philippines in the second canto, going off for an 8‑2 blitz to start the quarter to take its first double‑digit lead, 23‑11, at the 7:51 mark.
The Philippines fought back from that point forward, matching Chinese Taipei pretty much point‑for‑point to head into halftime down by just eight, 42‑34.
Chinese Taipei Pull Away
Chinese Taipei had another strong start to a quarter to begin the third, outscoring the Philippines 8‑0 to extend their lead to 50‑34 early in the second half. They were still ahead, 58‑42, with 2:43 left in the third when Gilas Women made their boldest move of the game yet, scoring the next 10 points to inch to within 58‑52 with a minute and change left before the final canto.
However, Chinese Taipei regained their composure just in time, outscoring the Filipinas, 7‑4, to take a 65‑56 lead into the fourth. The East Asian squad scored the first basket of the final frame to restore their double‑digit bubble, and it proved impregnable, with Gilas Women last threatening at 72‑64.
Gilas Women Standouts
Afril Bernardino led the way in a losing cause with a game‑high 23 points on top of 7 rebounds. Janine Pontejos and Stefani Berberabe tallied 12 apiece, while Kent Pastrana added 11 points and 4 rebounds.
Yu‑wen Hsiao spearheaded Chinese Taipei’s attack with 14 points and 5 rebounds, followed by Ling‑Chuan Huang’s 13 markers and Ya‑en Han’s 11. Yu‑Ting Lin added 10, Hsiao‑Tong Peng tallied 9, and Yen‑Yu Chen chipped in 7.
Gilas Women exit the 20th Asian Games with a stint at the quarterfinals after wins over Kazakhstan and Hong Kong.
