Gilas Women fall to Chinese Taipei-A, settle for 4th in Jones Cup

MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas Women closed out their 43rd William Jones Cup campaign on a losing note as they fell to Chinese Taipei-A, 82-66, on Wednesday, July 10, at the Xinzhuang Stadium in Taiwan. 

Naomi Panganiban – who just recently suited up for Gilas Girls in the FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup Division B – dropped a game-high 19 points for the Filipinas, but her scoring output wasn’t enough as they missed out on a podium finish and wrapped up the tournament at fourth place with a 2-3 slate.  

Afril Bernardino and Stefanie Berberabe backstopped the 18-year-old Panganiban with 12 points each, while Gilas Women star Jack Animam chalked up 8 markers and 9 rebounds in the losing effort. 

Playing in its fifth game in as many days, the Philippines got off to a slow start as it trailed Chinese Taipei-A by double figures at the end of the opening frame, 10-26.

Gilas Women managed to outscore Chinese Taipei-A, 22-21, in the second quarter and 17-15 in the third frame, but the 16-point separation Chinese Taipei-A built at the start was simply too much for the Filipinas to overcome late. 

Chinese Taipei-A shot the lights out from beyond the arc as it cashed in 8 of its 15 three-point attempts, while the Philippines was held to a dismal 2-of-17 clip from deep.

Yu-Ting Lin led the charge for Chinese Taipei-A with 15 points, to go along with 3 rebounds and 4 assists. 

Prior to this setback, the Philippines scored a 68-58 win over Thailand on Tuesday, July 9, to keep its then slim gold medal hopes alive. 

That victory, however, went for naught as Japan Universiade secured the gold medal shortly after with an 84-34 drubbing of Malaysia on Tuesday. 

Japan Universiade completed a dominant 5-0 sweep of the tournament en route to the gold medal finish, while Chinese Taipei-A placed second with a 4-1 card.

Chinese Taipei-B, Gilas Women, and Thailand all finished with an identical 2-3 record, but due to quotient system, Chinese Taipei-B ended up at third place, while the Philippines and Thailand wound up fourth and fifth, respectively.

Gilas Women bowed to Chinese Taipei-B, 73-60, in their Jones Cup opener last Saturday, July 6, before bouncing back with a 74-63 win over the sixth-placed Malaysia on Sunday, July 7. 

The Filipinas’ toughest defeat of the tournament came at the hands of eventual champion Japan Universiade on Monday, July 8, where they suffered a heartbreaking 85-83 loss after climbing back from a double-digit deficit at the start of the fourth quarter. 

In that match, both Bernardino and Animam breached the 20-point scoring territory with 21 and 20 markers, respectively. 

Bernardino led the Philippines in scoring in this year’s Jones Cup with 13 points per game.

Panganiban made a good account of herself in her Gilas Women debut as she averaged 12.6 points in five matches.

Animam, meanwhile, was a force to be reckoned with inside the paint as she averaged 11.6 points and 12.2 rebounds this tournament, including a monster 21-rebound performance versus Thailand. – Rappler.com