Gilas Pilipinas warmed up for its crucial clash against Malaysia, fending off a hard-fighting Thailand side, 82-70, to stay in the hunt for the silver medal in the women’s 5-on-5 basketball competition in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games at the Elephant Hall 2 Morodok Techo National Stadium on Sunday, May 13.
The Filipina dribblers leaned on a late fourth quarter surge to shake off Thailand and catch Malaysia tied for the second spot of the standings with identical 4-1 record. Interestingly, Gilas' next match will be against Malaysia on Monday, May 15, where the winner will bag the silver medal after Indonesia officially clinched the gold with a 86-39 victory over Singapore to complete a sweep of the tournament earlier in the day. Afril Bernardino led the fourth quarter breakaway for the Filipinos, finishing with 18 points including a crucial 6-0 personal run that restored order for Gilas after the Thais came too close for comfort, 68-63, halfway through the frame. Bernardino though exited the contest after her late outburst due to ankle sprain but the rest of the Filipinas finished what she had started, completing a 12-2 run to take a commanding 15-point lead, 80-65 with 1:25 to go. Khate Castillo added 11 points while Janine Pontejos and Jack Animam also provided support with 10 points apiece. Gilas actually went off to a 19-10 start in the contest but the Thais kept themselves within striking distance in the first half, only down by eight at the half, 38-46. Thailand even cut the lead down to just two, 49-47, in the third frame but Gilas retaliated with a 9-2 run to keep some separation 58-49. Rattiyakorn Udomsuk tried to carry the fight for the Thais with 22 points while Thunchano Lumdabpang added 11. All their efforts however went down the drain in the end as Thailand is now out of medal contention with its 1-4 record in the standings.
*Gilas Pilipinas' Afril Bernardino and Ella Fajardo dive for the loose ball against a Thai player (
Ariya Kurniawan \| @ariyakurniawan16 on IG\)*
The Filipina dribblers leaned on a late fourth quarter surge to shake off Thailand and catch Malaysia tied for the second spot of the standings with identical 4-1 record. Interestingly, Gilas' next match will be against Malaysia on Monday, May 15, where the winner will bag the silver medal after Indonesia officially clinched the gold with a 86-39 victory over Singapore to complete a sweep of the tournament earlier in the day. Afril Bernardino led the fourth quarter breakaway for the Filipinos, finishing with 18 points including a crucial 6-0 personal run that restored order for Gilas after the Thais came too close for comfort, 68-63, halfway through the frame. Bernardino though exited the contest after her late outburst due to ankle sprain but the rest of the Filipinas finished what she had started, completing a 12-2 run to take a commanding 15-point lead, 80-65 with 1:25 to go. Khate Castillo added 11 points while Janine Pontejos and Jack Animam also provided support with 10 points apiece. Gilas actually went off to a 19-10 start in the contest but the Thais kept themselves within striking distance in the first half, only down by eight at the half, 38-46. Thailand even cut the lead down to just two, 49-47, in the third frame but Gilas retaliated with a 9-2 run to keep some separation 58-49. Rattiyakorn Udomsuk tried to carry the fight for the Thais with 22 points while Thunchano Lumdabpang added 11. All their efforts however went down the drain in the end as Thailand is now out of medal contention with its 1-4 record in the standings.