SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ bid for a promotion to Division A of the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship came to an ugly end on Wednesday, June 29 as it bowed to Samoa, 88-73, in the semifinals of Division B in Amman, Jordan.
After dealing the same opponents a 29-point beatdown in their previous outing, the erstwhile unbeaten Gilas Girls failed to carry the momentum into the all-important matchup and trailed Samoa from start to finish.
The Filipinas had no answers for Samoa’s Kira-May Filemu, who finished with a monster stat line of 36 points on 15-of-28 shooting, 15 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Samoa’s Sienna Tutani also torched the Philippines with a triple-double of 11 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Azaleeah Oloapu recorded 18 points, 19 rebounds, and 7 assists.
With the Philippines down by just 7 points, 18-25, at the end of the opening period, Samoa unleashed a decisive 28-12 rally in the second period to lead by 23 points at halftime, 53-30.
It was all Samoa from there on as it quickly pushed its lead to as many as 27 points in the opening minutes of the third quarter, 59-32, which proved too much for the Philippines to overcome the rest of the way.
Naomi Panganiban led the way for the Philippines in the losing cause with 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Ava Fajardo and Kristan Yumul, meanwhile, added 14 and 13 markers, respectively, for the Gilas Girls.
The Philippines’ hopes for a slot in the FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup is now out of reach as only the tournament champion in Division B will advance to Division A.
The teams in Division A will then battle it out for a ticket to the World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary in July.
The Scores
Samoa 88 – Filemu 36, Oloapu 18, Tutani 11, Manumaleuga 9, Keresoma 6, Hiko 4, Gasu 2, Talosaga 2, Walshe 0, Brown 0, Hogben 0, Kiliva 0.
Philippines 73 – Panganiban 15, Fajardo 14, Yumul 13, Nolasco 8, Ramos 8, Lopez 6, Patricio 4, Villarin 3, Medina 2, Nair 0, Elson 0.
Quarters: 25-18, 53-30, 72-53, 88-73.
- Rappler.com
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