Breaks of the game just didn’t go Gilas’ way.
Japan’s Chanson V-Magic did just enough to fend off Gilas Women, 95-88, in the 42nd William Jones Cup on Wednesday.
Janine Pontejos and Afril Bernardino were at the forefront of Gilas’ attack, with the former nailing a trey to inch closer, 82-81 with still 3:40 remaining in the fourth period.
Japan, though, remained calm as the sea in the face of Gilas relentless rally.
With a little over a minute remaining, Koike Haruka, who finshed with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 12 assists, and 3 steals, canned a pair of pressure-packed freebies, 92-86.
Gilas refused to fold. Pontejos drilled in a jumper to trim the gap to 4, but time just wasn’t on the Filipina ballers' side.
Pontejos paced Gilas with 20 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the three-point area. She also had 2 rebounds, and the same number of assists and steals,
Jack Animam put up another double-double outing with 19 points and 10 rebounds to go with 2 assists, and 2 blocks.
Bernardino added 11 points, 2 rebounds, and 6 assists for the Philippines, which erased a 12-point deficit in the second period with a flurry of triples.
Facing a double-digit deficit, Gilas went on a furious 16-5 rally powered by two triples each from Pontejos and Jhazmin Joson to make the game interesting. The Filipinas hoopers even took a 50-49 lead to start the third quarter and ended it with a 4-point advantage, 69-65.
That’s when the 16-time Women’s Japan Basketball League Champions’ experience came into play as they bunched together a quick 6-0 spurt to regain control they never relinquished until the final buzzer.
The Philippines, which fell short against South Korea on Tuesday, wrapped up the regional tourney with a sorry 1-4 record.
(GM)