Gilas Women secure last 8 berth even after loss to Japan

Gilas Pilipinas Women ended pool play in the 19th Asian Games on a bittersweet note, yielding to continental powerhouse Japan, 96-59, on Sunday, October 1, in Hangzhou, China. Despite the loss, the Filipinas advanced to the quarterfinals with a 2-1 record along with Japan (3-0) after emerging as the top two performers in Group B. Hong Kong (1-2) and Kazakhstan (0-3) bowed out as only the top two teams in each of the four groups secured berths in the last eight. Japan had a great start, zooming to a quick 11-0 spurt against Gilas Women and never looked back. The Philippines also suffered a tough blow when national team veteran Afril Bernardino (165-G-1991) suffered a leg injury at the 4:55 mark of the second quarter and had to be carried off the court, with the Philippines trailing, 23-40. Bernardino did not return, with the skipper ending the contest with 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. Gilas Women trailed by as many as 39 points, 96-57, with 33 seconds left, after an inside stab by Azusa Asahina (185-C-2003). The Japanese offense was on-point from the interior, shooting 22/36 for a 61% clip. Janine Pontejos (165-G-1992) was the Philippines’ lone double-digit scorer with 13 points, while Jack-Danielle Animam (192-C/F-1998) contributed 9 points and 7 rebounds. Aika Hirashita (177-C-2002) fired a game-high 26 points, while Saki Hayashi (173-G-1995) chipped in 17 for the Japanese. The knockout quarterfinal round starts on Monday, October 2.
Courtesy of: rappler.com