By REYNALD MAGALLON
Their goal going into the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in Australia was to compete and play hard.
The Gilas women’s team did more than that after showing big fighting heart against taller and formidable squads in performances that made coach Patrick Aquino more exciting to the team’s future.
Of course, Aquino was so proud with what his players did, proving they indeed belong to the elite group, especially after giving New Zealand some hellish moments.
From picking up its first win in the group stage since being promoted to the Division A in 2015 to its strong performance in the knockout stage where they pushed a mighty New Zealand team to the limit, Aquino said the performance in this year’s edition was a big leap for the Philippine women’s basketball.
“It’s a big leap for us, it’s a giant step for us doing this and making us competitive and hopefully we could do better and prepare more,” said Aquino in the aftermath of Gilas heartbreaking 83-78 loss to New Zealand in the play-in for the semifinals on Friday, June 30.
“I feel that with this performance, more kids back home will be following us and would be aiming to be one of the Gilas Women,” he added.
A fancied Tall Ferns who are ranked No. 29 in the world, the Filipinas did not only hold their ground but actually had a legitimate chance of making history and marching to the semifinals of the tournament.
And while Gilas also fell short of booking a spot in the Olympic qualifying tournament, it succeeded in proving its worth and commanding respect from the rest of the region.
“That was a really gritty and relentless Filipino team which improved so much. They’ve had an outstanding tournament,” said New Zealand head coach Guy Molloy.
“It was a good game for us, we competed, and we felt that really now, we can compete with the best of the best in Asia and hopefully, when we come back, we’ll be stronger,” said Aquino.
Aquino also hopes that the Nationals can pick up from the strong performance and have the confidence to compete against other Asian powerhouses.
“Our goal was to really compete and show that we belong. The win against Chinese Taipei is what we needed for that and with that win, the confidence is overflowing right now,” stressed Aquino
“Hopefully it’s not the end, not the last. We continue to work harder for which these girls are really working to achieve those goals,” he added
