Amyah Izabel Espanol saved her best six points for when Gilas Pilipinas U23 Women needed them most. On a Sunday.
With Chinese Taipei leading 15-11 and just 45 seconds remaining, the Philippines appeared headed for a painful finish. Instead, Espanol, the 21-year-old, 5-foot-8 point guard from Far Eastern University, summoned the kind of late-game nerve that has become synonymous with Gilas’ “Puso” mentality.
She scored six straight points—all within a span of 30 seconds on outside sniping and daredevil drives, turning a four-point deficit into a 17-15 victory, a championship, and, most importantly, a ticket to the FIBA 3×3 U23 World Cup in Wuhan, China, in September.
On Sunday at Hextar World in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, Espanol and her teammates completed their comeback story by beating Chinese Taipei in the Stop 6 final of the FIBA 3×3 U23 Nations League-Asia SEA Conference.
The victory was particularly sweet after the Philippines stumbled in Stop 5, losing to New Zealand, 16-11, on Saturday. But the setback did little to dull the team’s appetite for the finish.
The Philippines had won Stops 1, 3, and 6 to accumulate 510 points to claim the SEA Conference crown and secure its World Cup berth.
Espanol led the charge alongside fellow FEU standout Victoria Pasilang, University of the Philippines’ Kennan Ka and Marielle Vingno, and Adamson’s Jam Meniano.
For Espanol, the final was less a game than a deadline. With the clock shrinking and Chinese Taipei within one basket of the title, she simply took over.
The boys came close, too, settling for silver after beating Vietnam and Chinese Taipei before falling to New Zealand, 21-18, in the final.
But it was the women who delivered the headline act, turning desperation into drama, and 45 seconds into a Philippine basketball celebration.
