By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas girls team formalized its entry to the semifinals of the FIBA u16 Women’s Asian Championship after a 106-58 rout of host Jordan at the Prince Hamza Hall in Amman in the wee hours of Thursday, July 13 (Manila time).
The Filipinas continued to dominate in the competition, winning their third win in as many days to top Group B and claim the first semis spot in the tournament that offered a promotion to the Division A.
Just like in its first two games, it was Gilas’ defense that dictated the tempo in the wire-to-wire win, forcing the Jordanians to consecutive turnovers that fueled the Filipinas’ high octane offense.
Gilas played the passing lanes well as it recorded 28 steals which caused the whooping 36 turnovers of Jordan.
Taking full advantage of the Filipinas defensive stop was Kimi Sayson who pumped in 19 points, seven steals, six assists and four rebounds while five other Gilas players breached double figures in scoring.
Ava Fajardo had 17 points while Nevaeh Smith chipped in 15 points. Ryan Kelly Nair contributed 11 points to go along with seven assists and four steals. Demicah Arnaldo and Scarlett Mercado were the other double-digit scorers with 10 apiece.
Unlike in the wins over Hong Kong and Maldives, Gilas actually faced some resistance from the hosts after the Jordaninans managed to keep in step with the Filipinas only trailing by one 14-15 towards the last three minutes of the opening frame.
Gilas tightened up its defensive screws from there and went off in the second quarter where it exploded for 30 points while limiting Jordan to a measly 14 points to take control of the contest the rest of the way.
Zena Sameh Suleiman Alkarain was the lone bright spot for Jordan with 26 points and seven rebounds in a losing cause.
