The Gilas Pilipinas women’s team will not get to any podium finish at the 44th William Jones Cup as they suffer another double digit loss, this time against the unbeaten Japan yesterday, June 5.
The Defending Champs Won the 2nd Half
The Filipinas showed early promise, bouncing back from a flat performance against South Korea the previous day.
They came out strong in the first half, even building a 12-point advantage and holding a narrow 46-44 lead at halftime inside the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium.
But then, the Japan team remembered they had an unbeaten record in this tournament and are currently the defending champions so they flipped the script during the 2nd half.
Midway through the third period, back-to-back three-pointers from Vanessa de Jesus and Naomi Panganiban pushed Gilas ahead, 58-54.
However, Japan quickly responded and took control with a momentum-shifting 14-0 run to close the third quarter, surging ahead 66-58. The Japanese squad didn’t look back from there, widening the gap in the fourth period with another burst—this time a 14-2 rally—that effectively sealed the outcome. A three-pointer and a three-point play by Maika Miura highlighted that final push, extending their lead to 85-67.
Despite the strong first half, the Philippines struggled to keep pace in the final two quarters, where Japan outscored them 50-28.
Final Score: 94-74
The defending champions remained unbeaten in the tournament at 4-0, bolstered by a balanced scoring effort that saw five players reach double figures. Miura led Japan with 12 points, five rebounds, and two assists, while Azusa Asahina, Suzuno Higuchi, Haru Owaki, and Ufuoma Tanaka each chipped in 11 points.
Looking For: Players to Help Jack Animam
Gilas frontcourt Jack Animam has been the only consistent contributor of the team since the start of the tournament.
Against Japan in 29 minutes she had 21 points, 16 rebounds, an assist and 2 steals. But then again, it’s not enough for them to win a game.
Other players who contributed for Gilas are:
- Naomi Natalie – 14 points, a rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals
- Louna Ozar – 11 points, 3 rebounds, an assists and a steal
- Sumayah Sugapong – 10 points (a horrendous 0-6 from 3-point area), 3 rebounds, an assists and a steal
- Ella Fajardo – 9 points, 2 rebounds and an assist
- Vanessa De Jesus – 9 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals
Same Old Weakness in the Previous Losses
It appears that the “areas of improvement” still haven’t been curated for Gilas up until now.
They had an awful 3-point shooting 6-23 compared to Japan’s 11-33. Free Throw makes also haven’t changed as Gilas only ended with 2-8 while the defending champs went for 11-33.
Lost in the rebounding category 35-42, got outassisted once again 23-14 and had more blocks 2-0.
But hey, at least Gilas had more steals 10-6.
One More Game Before FIBA Asia Cup
With their record now at 1-3, the Philippines will conclude their Jones Cup campaign against the WUG CTUSF team on Sunday, July 6 at 4:00PM (Philippine Date and Time).
After the tournament, Gilas will shift focus to the upcoming FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in Shenzhen, China, set to begin on July 13, where they are slated to face the full-strength Japanese national team in group play.
