The Philippines’ Gilas Girls got the job done in Jordan on Sunday (early Monday in Manila), dominating much taller competitions on their way to seizing of FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship 2023-Division B and securing promotion to Division A—the group where Asia’s representative to the World Cup are determined.
The Gilas Girls broke the game wide open in the middle of the fourth quarter—scoring 11 unanswered points from the trio of Nevaeh Smith, Alyssia Palma, and Sophia Canindo—to dash Iran’s hope of a come from behind victory, and winning the Finals on a score of 83-60.
The opening minutes were scary for Gilas though, stoking memories of the team’s loss in the semifinals game last year to eventual Division B champion Samoa after a show-of-force in the elimination stage. The team won third place to start a year-long journey along redemption road.
The girls immediately turned over possession after winning the jump ball and missed several field goal attempts before 5’1’’ point guard Kimi Shannon Lynn swished the first of the team’s 11 made 3-point shots in the Finals. Gilas attempted 41 times from rainbow country while Iran only tried 16 times and made only 3 of them.
Long-range bombing—Gilas took 199 attempts beyond the rainbow line the whole tournament and made 53, nearly double the volume taken and made by the next team, Malaysia—and a stifling defense that is the signature of Gilas Women’s head coach Patrick Henry Aquino, who left a winning program at the National University last year to focus on the Gilas program. Just last month in Australia, Aquino guided Gilas to a historic win in the Women’s Asia Cup, the first since the team won a promotion to Division A in 2015.
Still, Iran took an early lead 6-5, getting their shots near the basket and on a fastbreak.
After the ball landed in her hands following a long rebound, 5’5’’ point guard Smith was fouled as she took and made a 3-point shot. Smith completed a four-point play that pushed the Philippines on the driver’s seat 9-6 to the delight of a large Filipino contingent in the Prince Hamzah Sports Hall, where they brought flags, banners, cymbals, drums and non-stop cheering. The girls obliged, punishing the Iranian team both on defense and offense over the two quarters to end the first half with a 41-26 margin.
An even more aggressive Gilas team came out of the dug out at half time, allowing Iran no basket for over three minutes as they push the lead to as high as 27 points early in the third quarter, 53-26. Iran fought back and whittled the Philippines lead at the end of the third quarter, 59-45.
Iran managed to trim the lead further early in the fourth quarter before the 11-point coup de grace was unleashed. Gilas played a superb Finals game, dominating the boards, forcing turn overs, dishing more assists, and outshooting Iran both in the two- and three-point areas. Iran only led in blocks, 5-3.
Smith showed the way for Gilas, leading all scores with 21 points on the back of a 5-for-13 shooting on 3-point land. Ava Camryn Fajardo, a 5’4’’ point guard and sister to Gilas Women’s team standout Ella, made 12 points and 9 assists while Ariel De La O had a double-double 10 points and 10 rebounds. Alyssia Rylee Palma, Gilas’ 6’1’’ center, had 11 rebounds and 8 points, with the game’s highest efficiency ranking of plus 22.
