Perlas Pilipinas promoted to FIBA Asia Level 1 after win over India

MANILA, Philippines -- Perlas Pilipinas patron Dioceldo Sy of Blackwater said the national women’s squad’s promotion to Level 1 of the Fiba-Asia women’s championships on Friday is a tribute to the players’ “all-heart and commitment to flag and country”.

“Ang bigat talaga ng ginawa ng Perlas. I was monitoring the game here (in Manila) and sa totoo lang, iba yung spirit at puso ng mga players,” Sy told Philstar.com, moments after the women’s national side whipped India, 82-76 for close out the Level 2 tournament with a 5-1 record in Wuhan, China.

More importantly, Perlas Pilipinas, which drew 32 points from Afril Bernardino, barged into Division 1 of the 2017 Fiba-Asia edition to join the elite countries led by China, South Korea, Japan and Chinese-Taipei.

The amiable Sy, who was in Wuhan early this week to support the Perlas team, also commended national coach Patrick Aquino for coming up with a strong system that maximizes the talent of the players.

“We’re undermanned and under din sa height, but you can see that our women’s team played with pure guts, and that’s a credit to coach Pat kasi naayos niya yung system kaya anybody in the team is a threat,” he added.

Bernardino, the reigning UAAP Women’s MVP, hit an impressive 14-for-18 clip against India, while collaring five rebounds, five assists and five steals in an all-around performance.

Perlas’ historic climb to Level 1 in Fiba-Asia easily erased the stigma of its debacle last June, which saw the Filipinas place just fourth in the Southeast Asian Games women’s cage championships.

The national distaff side opened the tournament at the wrong foot, following its 71-64 loss to Malaysia, but bounced back with victories over North Korea (68-67), Sri Lanka (65-45), Hong Kong (75-62), Kazakhstan (80-73 in overtime) and India.

Sy said they intend to throw a victory celebration for the triumphant Perlas national squad, which is set to arrive Saturday night in Manila.