Weary cagebelles blow gold bid, fall to Malaysians

Game today 10:15 a.m. – Philippines vs Vietnam

KUALA LUMPUR – Perlas Pilipinas apparently fell victim to tight schedule put up by organizers as it lacked the stamina and endurance following its late Wednesday game, losing to a close 56-60 decision to Malaysia that eased the Filipinas out of the fight for the gold in the SEA Games women’s basketball competition.

The best the Filipinas could hope for is to salvage the bronze medal, although a win against Vietnam at 10:15 a.m. today is still not a guarantee of a third-place finish.

Malaysia is ahead of the pack at 4-0, followed by Indonesia (3-1) and Thailand (3-1), then the Philippines (3-2).

“We fell short in our campaign and I apologize for not living up to the expectation of everybody,” said Perlas coach Patrick Aquino.

“I’m just happy we still got there in a battle (with Malaysia). I know the girls are very tired from the game against Thailand (Wednesday night) and the game today,” Aquino also said.

The rigors of fatigue took their toll on the Filipinas who took on Malaysia the morning after its game against Thailand late last night.

“And we’re not able to rest (after the Thailand game). The bus took a different and longer route and we were asked to walk some distance,” said Aquino.