Sheer dominance is an understatement for the Gilas Pilipinas U18 women's squad as they complete their road to redemption in FIBA’s U18 Women’s Asia Cup Division B, at Shenzhen, China’s Futian Sports Park on Sunday, June 30, 2024.
Gilas Girls’ overwhelming 95-64 victory over Lebanon in the Division B finale promotes them to the region’s best in Asia’s Division A, competing against Australia (5th), Japan (9th), China (19th), South Korea (25th), and Chinese Taipei (28th) among others.
The roster, led by head coach Julie Amos, continued its seven-game win streak that dates back to May 2024’s SEABA qualifiers, highlighted by Alyssa Rodriguez’s 22 markers on 60 percent from beyond the arc (17 of which came in the first half). Margarett Villanueva (15), Naomi Panganiban (13), Ava Fajardo (10), and Sophia Canindo (10) joined in on the double-digit club with a combined 48 of the team’s total 95.
Apart from their lights-out scoring performance, the Gilas Girls remained vigilant on both sides of the hardwood, forcing their Lebanese counterparts to 31 turnovers, resulting in 39 converted points. Their ability to effectively space the floor and pressure the 86th-ranked squad defensively allowed only one three-point basket conversion out of eight attempts.
While they depart FIBA Asia’s Cup’s Division B as the queens of the region, Coach Amos looks to build on the roster’s ability to go toe-to-toe with the best female cagers in the world.
“Now the seniors, U-18, and U-16 programs are all in Division A. We know there’s a lot more to work on. We celebrate now [but] prepare for the future,” Amos mentioned to the Inquirer following their victory.
“We’ve had an amazing run from the Seaba to the Asia Cup. We hope that we continue to give honor to our country and kababayans (countrymen),” she added.
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