Gilas Pilipinas Women shoot for a spot in the semifinal round when it battles New Zealand in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup on Friday at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre in Australia.
Game time is at 3 p.m. (Manila time) with the Filipinas looking for a victory that will send them to the semifinals of this prestigious continental tournament that also serves as a qualifier for the Paris Olympics next year.
After absorbing back-to-back lopsided setbacks to Australia and Japan, the Filipinas bounced back, hammering a 92-81 win over Chinese Taipei to make it to the quarterfinals.
Naturalized player Vanessa de Jesus erupted for 25 points while mainstays Afril Bernardino and Jack Animam finished with a double-double performance to stave off a gutsy Chinese Taipei squad.
Bernardino came away with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Animam also rediscovered her deadly form, finishing with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
The emotional Animam said she had to push herself to the limit to keep their campaign going and make sure that the Philippines will stay on the Division A for the next FIBA Asa Cup two years from now.
“I really wanted to win this game for my teammates and to our coach,” Animam said.
But Animam and the rest of the Filipinas couldn’t get too emotional this time as they have a bigger task at hand, which is to beat a formidable foe from Oceania in New Zealand.
The Kiwis are coming off a 31-point beating of Lebanon to set up a quarterfinal showdown with the Philippines.
Gilas will have to do a better job defending Thalia Tupaea, who hit six three-pointers in New Zealand’s 76-45 win against Lebanon.
The Filipinas are also going to have their hands full against Charlisse Leger-Walker and Penina Davidson, who has been averaging in double-double in the entire tournaments — 18.5 points and 11.5 rebounds.
