PHL cagebelles hurdle Indonesians

HANOI—QUICK, agile and obviously superior in skill set, the Philippine women’s team foiled Indonesia, 93-77, to kick off its gold medal-retention bid in Southeast Asian Games women’s basketball action on Monday at the Thanh Tri Gymnasium.

But despite being the favorites, the Filipinas needed to warm up to set the tone for the one-sided match that was virtually decided in the third quarter.

“They played so hard. What can I ask for,” head coach Patrick Aquino said. “That’s what we’ve been working on for the last couple of months. Hopefully, we can sustain that.”

Played so hard the Filipinas did that their 18 steals impressed their coach.

“I’m just happy that they were doing their best,” Aquino said. “Talagang sobrang saya ko sa kanila.”

After a close first half, the Gilas Women went on a 32-19 run in the third period to all but settle the issue with a commanding 72-57 lead entering the final quarter.

Afril Bernardino led the Philippines with 16 points with nine rebounds and four steals. Janine Pontejos added 15 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field and Camille Clarin scored 11 points.

Gabi Bade, one of the team’s two new recruits from the United States, had 11 points in her SEA Games debut. The daughter of former Philippine Basketball Association player Cris Bade is a mainstay of Sacramento State.

The other new player on the squad, Stefanie Berberade, a former Player of the Year in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics school Westmont, scored four points.

The Philippines takes a break on Tuesday before facing Thailand, the team it beat for the breakthrough gold medal in the 2019 Games, on Wednesday in the women’s tournament that drew six teams.

The top squad after the roundrobin play wins the gold.