Hot-shooting Indonesians blast listless Perlas 5

KUALA LUMPUR – Seems like the SEA Games women’s basketball gold would remain elusive for the Philippines.

Perlas Pilipinas failed to sustain a torrid shooting in the first half, turning cold in the last two quarters and dropping a 68-78 loss to Indonesia at the MABA Gymnasium here last night.

In contrast, the Indonesians went hot in the last 20 minutes of play and repeated their conquest of the Filipinas in the 2015 SEAG in Singapore.

Perlas Pilipinas blew a 12-point first-half lead and failed to rattle their rivals with their pressing defense in a comeback bid down the stretch.

The crucial loss was a big blow to the Filipinas’ gold-medal aspiration in the single-round-robin competition.

Earlier, host and defending champion Malaysia and Thailand rolled to a second straight win, like Indonesia.

Malaysia routed Singapore, 74-55, while Thailand crushed Vietnam, 86-35.

The Philippines looked headed for a second straight win after a triumphant opening game against Singapore as the Filipinas dominated the opening half, leading by 12 at 26-14.

But after converting 17 of 33 field attempts in the first 20 minutes, the Filipinas made only 10 of 43 in a crushing meltdown in the next 20 minutes.

Their defense also crumbled.

Debby Nathasa came through with four three-pointers in their third quarter turnaround and sustained her hot shooting in the final canto to lead all scorers with 25 points.

Guard Agustin Retong provided the leadership while frontcourt player Yuni Anggraeni punished the Filipinas with 16 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals.