Gilas Women gave New Zealand all it could handle.
The Olympic dream of Gilas Pilipinas Women is over—for now.
Coming off a rousing victory versus Chinese-Taipei on Wednesday in the FIBA Womens' Asia Cup, Gilas Women put up on Friday yet another spirited effort against New Zealand, the 29th ranked women’s squad in hoops coming in. That valiant showing, though, just felt a bit short, with the national team losing steam in the endgame en route to a heartbreaking 83-78 defeat to the taller, more experienced Kiwis.
Despite the loss, one thing is certain for Gilas Women: The future is bright.
“We just fell short. [But] it was a good game for us. We competed and we now feel that we can compete against the best of the best of Asia,” Gilas Women coach Pat Aquino told reporters after the New Zealand game. “Hopefully, when we come back, we’ll be stronger, and I just wanna say I’m really proud of the girls.”
Aquino should be mighty proud. Practically no one—except maybe the Gilas Women squad—saw this coming: the Philippines taking New Zealand to the hilt and staying within striking distance all the way to the final buzzer. The nationals just didn’t give an inch, never backing down one bit even as New Zealand built an early 10-point lead in the opening frame.
It was, put simply, an awe-inspiring effort, one that Aquino hopes will inspire the country’s young female hoopers to dream big.
“It’s a big leap. It’s a giant step for us,” said Aquino. “Hopefully we can do better and prepare more. I feel that with this performance, more kids back home will be following us and will be aiming to be one of the Gilas Women.”
Gilas Women might just have accomplished that. And, indeed, the future looks brighter than ever.