MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Women settled for sixth place in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup following an 80-71 loss to South Korea at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre in Australia on Saturday, July 1.

The Filipinas ended their campaign with two narrow defeats after barely missing out on a prized semifinal berth no thanks to an 83-78 heartbreaker at the hands of New Zealand a day prior.

Still, it was the best finish for the Philippines in tournament history in nearly four decades, or since it wound up at fourth place in the 1984 edition.

Afril Bernardino delivered 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals, including the layup that cut a deficit as big as 19 points, 43-62, to a single possession, 68-71, with 4:30 minutes remaining.

The Koreans, though, answered with a 9-3 finishing run to secure fifth place.

Jack Animam put up 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals in the loss, while Khate Castillo and Jhazmin Joson chimed in 12 and 9 points, respectively,

The defeats may be a bitter pill to swallow for now, but the way the Filipinas fought in this tournament gives head coach Pat Aquino hope for an even better showing in the future.

After all, Gilas Women won in the group stage for the first time since their Division A promotion in 2015 when they hacked out a 92-81 victory over Chinese Taipei.

Ranked No. 42 in the world, the Philippines then exceeded expectations and gave No. 12 Korea and No. 29 New Zealand a stiff challenge.

“We fell short. But I’m still proud of the girls, we never gave up,” said Aquino.

“I think the gaps are really closing for us. I hope that we continue doing this in the future when we go back. It is a great energy for us in preparing for the next one.”

Park Ji-hyun starred for Korea with 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals, while former WNBA player Park Ji-su – who suited up for the Las Vegas Aces for three seasons – posted an 11-point, 16-rebound double-double.

Kim Dan-Bi added 14 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds in the win.

The Filipinas badly missed Vanessa de Jesus’ offensive production as she scored just 5 points on 2-of-13 shooting, marking the second time she got limited to single digits after averaging 18.3 points in the first three games.

De Jesus still made her presence felt in the other departments with 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.

The Scores

Korea 80 – Park J.H. 24, Kim D. 14, Park J.S. 11, Shin 11, Lee S.H. 9, Kang 6, Yang 2, Jin 2, An 1, Lee K. E. 0.

Philippines 71 – Bernardino 16, Animam 12, Castillo 12, Joson 9, De Jesus 5, Pontejos 5, Cabinbin 4, Clarin 3, Fajardo 3, Surada 2, Ozar 0.

Quarters: 18-19, 44-34, 66-55, 80-71. 

– Rappler.com