2 days Ago By N/A (Reynald I. Magallon)
A shorthanded Gilas Pilipinas women’s team put up a brave stand in the knockouts of the FIBA Asia Cup before settling for fourth place followingback-to-back losses to Japan in the semis and China in the battle for third on Sunday, March 30. A shorthanded Gilas Pilipinas women’s team put up a brave stand in the knockouts of the FIBA Asia Cup before settling for fourth place following back-to-back losses to Japan in the semis and China in the battle for third on Sunday, March 30. Down one personnel after Camille Clarin sustained a knee injury, the trio of Mika Cacho, Jhaz Joson and Kaye Pingol powered through fatigue and exhaustion to hack out a 19-15 victory over world No.
12 Mongolia to reach the semifinals. As brave as their spirits were for the Nationals, fighting with only three players in the team proved to be too much for the cagebelles to overcome especially against the quicker Japanese and then later on the heftier and taller Chinese. It was an emotional run for the Filipinas with Clarin, who was reduced to a spectator on the sidelines, crying as her teammates, seemingly dedicating the win to their fallen comrade, gathered around her at the end of the final buzzer.
Gilas, at one point, was trailing 10-3 in the quarterfinals contest before Cacho rallied the three-woman team to pull off the big win. Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas later on confirmed the severity of Clarin’s injury as she was revealed to have suffered a partial ACL tear. Surviving Mongolia with only three players then left Gilas with nothing against Japan.
Though the Nationals tried to put up a fight, the Akatsuki easily overwhelmed Gilas, 22-9, relegating them to a battle for third. It was pretty much the same story in the bronze-medal game as after showing some sorts of resistance early on, the Filipinas lost steam in the end absorbing a 21-11 loss..
