Cagebelles slam Viets for 1st win

xSINGAPORE–Still disappointed from a close setback it suffered at the hands of Malaysia, the Philippines vented its ire on Vietnam and posted a lopsided 101-76 win on Tuesday night in the fifth Women’s Southeast Asian Basketball (SEABA) Championships at the Toah Payoh Indoor Sports Hall here.

Point guard Joan Grajales exploded from all angles, topscoring with her 26 points as the Philippines stayed in contention in this short, five-team tournament that gives to the top two finishers slots in the Asian Basketball Championships next year.

"I am confident that our ladies can take on any team here. We would have been leading the tournament if not for the bad officiating in our first game," said delegation head Cristy Ramos.

Sent here by the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP), the RP team is bidding to improve its third-place finish held two years ago in Malaysia. The Filipinas took a rest yesterday and will battle host Singapore today before meeting dangerous Thailand on Saturday.

"The next two games are very important. We hope that we get manageable officiating because we always expect the host team to get favorable calls from the referee," added Ramos.

On Monday, the Philippines threatened to pull the rug from under the defending champion Malaysia. But dubious foul calls by the referees resulted to the Malaysians’ having a field day at the free throw line en route to escaping with a close 63-65 win.

Ramos, who also went here as FIBA’s chairperson on Southeast Asian committee on women’s basketball, is accompanied by team manager Jimmy Chan Cuan, and coach Conrado Pasco and assistant Haydee Ong.