THE Gilas Pilipinas Under-18 Women squad buckled down to work in the fourth quarter against a feisty Thailand side and was fittingly rewarded last Monday night.
The young Filipina cagers tripped Thailand 65-50 in group phase action of the FIBA Under-18 Women’s Asian Championship Division B at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru.
Kate Bobadilla showed the way for Gilas Women with 22 points anchored on 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc, on top of two rebounds and four steals, while Kristan Yumul backed her up with 10 markers on two triples and four boards.
Newcomer Sumayah Sugapong, a San Diego, California-based recruit, also had nine and eight, while Louna Ozar added eight points, 11 caroms, and four assists for the Pat Aquino-mentored squad.
Gilas Women tangled with Samoa at press time last night in its drive to notch its second win.
The nationals took a 30-25 lead at the half and still enjoyed a 43-38 buffer heading into the payoff period.
Gilas Women uncorked a pivotal 10-2 binge capped by a Yumul jumper that pegged a 53-43 count at the 6:27 mark of the final canto.
The Filipina lasses did not look back from there and padded their edge to as much as 65-48 on a Sugapong trey, only 1:12 left.
Laksamee Hewchaiyaphum carried the fight for the Thais with 10 points and seven caroms, while Supawadee Aupatam added nine markers and eight rebounds.
The Philippines is bracketed in Group A where it will also battle Maldives on Wednesday.
Group B has Mongolia, Hong Kong, Jordan, and Malaysia.
The top-ranked team from the group will clinch an outright semifinals berth, while the second and third place squads will tangle in the quarterfinal playoff.
Only the champion of the Sept. 5 to 11 tourney will earn promotion to Division A in 2024.
The Under-16 side bagged a bronze medal in the Asian youth meet last June in Amman.
Division A is made up of Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, New Zealand, Chinese Taipei, India, and Indonesia.
