BY REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas finished sixth in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup after absorbing another narrow loss, this time, at the hands of South Korea, 80-71, in the classification match at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre in Australia on Saturday, July 1.
The Nationals, just like in its play-in game against New Zealand came close at stunning the higher-ranked Koreans, rallying back from a huge 19-point deficit only to fall short with its fourth quarter fight back at the end.
Despite the two heartbreaking losses to end the tournament, it was still the best finish for the Filipinas since getting promoted to the Division A in 2015.
The team’s competitiveness against the region’s powerhouses which in the past, used to just run over the Filipinas, offered a bright silver lining to the campaign of Gilas in this edition.
South Korea, for one, after defeating Gilas by as many as 28 points in the 2017 edition, had some anxious moments late in the final frame after its once comfortable lead was trimmed down to just five points, 76-71.
The Koreans, though, managed to pull themselves together in the final two minutes as back-to-back layups from Jihyun Park and Jisu Park averted a huge collapse against the upset-minded Filipinas.
Jihyun finished with 24 points while the other Park in Jisu added a double-double of 11 points and 16 rebounds to lift Korea past Gilas.
Afril Bernardino, as usual, carried the fight for the Filipinas with her 16 points while Khate Castillo and Jack Animam both picked up where they left off in the loss to the Tall Ferns, this time, contributing 12 points apiece.
