Games Today
(Bukit Serindit Indoor Stadium)
4 p.m. – Vietnam vs Thailand
6 p.m. – Singapore vs Laos
8 p.m. – Philippines vs Indonesia
After coasting to a pair of easy wins, Pinays now face storm.
MALACCA, MALAYSIA – The battle begins for Perlas Pilipinas.
After breezing past its first two assignments, the tough grind begins for the Filipinas when they face Indonesia in the SEABA Women’s Championship at the Bukit Serindit Indoor Stadium here Friday.
The Filipinas will square off with the Indonesians, the same team which defeated them in last year’s Southeast Asian Games, at 8 p.m.
Indonesia will be bannered by Gabriel Sofia, a 6-foot-5 center who did most of the damage against the Filipinas in Singapore.
Head coach Patrick Aquino is hoping the Philippines would carry the momentum of its huge wins over Singapore and Laos, which it defeated by a combined margin of 173 points.
The Blackwater Women-backed Philippine team waltzed past Singapore, 69-43, at the start of its campaign and then demolished Laos by a whopping 147 points, 179-32 on Wednesday.
For Aquino, the lopsided wins not only gave the Philippines some security in case the team falls in a multiple-team tie, but also boosted the confidence of the squad, especially the newcomers.
“We have to be wary of the quotient, but more than anything else, it’s a way to preserve our starting unit for the bigger games to come and allow the other players to build their confidence,” said Aquino.
On Wednesday, Perlas Pilipinas was merciless in giving Laos, a sound beating.
The team held its rival without a field goal in an eight-minute stretch in the second period and gave up only three points to take a 78-point lead, 96-18, at half time.
Perlas Pilipinas posted a 100-point lead with exactly two minutes left in the third quarter, 124-24, to completely take the fight out of Laos.