Gilas belles relish SEA Games double gold

MANILA, Philippines — After past heartbreaks of falling short, the Gilas Pilipinas women's squad finally scored a breakthrough and won two gold medals in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

Ruling both the 3x3 and the 5x5 tournaments of the biennial meet, the Gilas belles announced their dominance in women's hoops in the region.

"For the last two editions ng SEA Games, lagi kaming one win away from getting that gold but now, we didn't let that happen. We got it, we finished the job," said Gilas belle Jack Danielle Animam after the game.

"Sobrang sarap lang sa feeling, sobrang surreal," she added.

Animam, along with Clare Castro, Afril Bernardino and Janine Pontejos bucked exhaustion and fatigue — participating in both the 3x3 and 5x5 tourneys this SEA Games.

Right after clinching their 3x3 medal, they knew they wanted to repeat it come the 5x5 tournament.

"Nung nagchampion kami sa 3x3, ganun pala yung feeling magchampion sa SEA Games," Animam said.

"Nung naghuddle kami right after, kaming apat, sabi namin na ang sarap sa pakiramdam so gawin rin natin ito sa 5x5," she added.

The Gilas belles kept true to their promise with the four of them combining for 49 points in the Philippines' rout of Thailand, 91-71 in the gold medal match on Tuesday.

This historic gold, Animam says, isn't just for themselves but for everyone who was with them every step of the way.

"Itong laro na to, itong last game namin to get this gold, hindi lang para sa amin... kundi rin sa lahat ng mga taong sumoporta samin," she said.