Kazakhstan gave Philippine basketball and volleyball teams two very different reasons to remember Thursday.
Gilas Pilipinas Women made a statement. Alas Pilipinas Women made a stand.
Gilas opened its Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games campaign by drubbing Kazakhstan, 86-58, putting its bid to improve on a fifth-place finish in Hangzhou off to a flying start under new Canadian coach Burke Toews.
Defense did most of the heavy lifting.
The Filipinas forced Kazakhstan into 34 turnovers and turned those mistakes into 28 points, while collecting 26 steals to just five by the Kazakhs. Gilas also had a slight edge in assists, 19-18.
The Philippines shot 33 of 75 from the field, including 10 three-pointers, while Kazakhstan went 25 of 53 with seven triples. Both teams made seven free throws.
It was a familiar scoreline, too. Gilas beat Kazakhstan, 83-59, in their first meeting at the previous Asian Games.
The Filipinas now face Hong Kong on Sunday and world No. 10 Japan on Tuesday. A victory in either game will assure Gilas of a place in the next round.
For Alas, however, there was no next round.
Alas Pilipinas Women bowed out of medal contention after Kazakhstan rallied for a 27-29, 26-24, 25-23, 25-19 victory, completing an 0-2 preliminary-round campaign.
Yet the scoreboard hardly captured the fight.
Angel Canino kept the Philippines in the contest with a game-high 24 points, built on 20 attacks, two blocks, and two aces. Alyssa Solomon added 20 points, including 15 spikes, four blocks, and an ace.
Kazakhstan eventually closed the door, but Alas refused to leave quietly.
On a day when Philippine teams met the same opponent in different sports, one moved forward while the other moved on.
Gilas has games left to write its story. Alas, despite the loss, made sure its final chapter had plenty of fight.
