THE Gilas Pilipinas Under-16 women squad mowed down another opponent last Wednesday night and further boosted its bid for a lofty goal.
The young Filipinsa dismantled Jordan 106-58 for their third straight win and clinched a semifinals slot in Division B of the FIBA U-16 Women’s Asian Championship at the Prince Hamzah Stadium in Amman.
Kimi Sayson notched 19 points to lead six other teammates as the Gilas women the top spot in Group A with a 3-0 mark.
Sayson added four rebounds, six assists, and seven steals, while Ava Fajardo chipped in 17 markers and five dimes.
Nevaeh Smith (15), Ryan Kelly Nair (11) also did their part for the lasses of coach Pat Aquino, who also drew 10 points each from Scarlett Mercado and Demicah Arnaldo.
The runaway win came on the heels of the Philippine five’s merciless 144-22 thrashing of Maldives three days ago.
The Filipinas came away with 28 steals, which they turned into 45 points.
They took a 56-33 spread at the halfway mark and were hardly threatened from there.
Gilas women tackle either Malaysia or Singapore in the Final Four tomorrow, July 15, at the same venue.
Zena Sameh Suleiman Alkarain had 26 points and seven caroms for the Jordanians, who fell to 1-2 and on the brink of missing the semifinals.
Only the top two teams from each of the two groups will advance to the semis, with the champion earning a promotion to Division A where powerhouses China, Korea, Australia, and Japan play.
The Philippines wound up its campaign in last year’s edition of the same tilt with a third-place finish after a loss to Samoa in the semis.
