Gilas women pummel hosts Vietnam for 3rd straight win

HANOI — Gilas Pilipinas women made light work of host nation Vietnam in their matchup at the 31st Southeast Asian Games here, winning 118-87 at the Thanh Tri Gymnasium on Thursday.

A scorching-hot start saw Gilas scoring 40 points in just the opening quarter as they doubled up early on the hosts, 40-20.

Khate Castillo sparked the barrage with an onslaught from deep.

Despite playing in a hostile arena full of Vietnamese fans, the Gilas women remain cool and collected to take the wire-to-wire win.

At their most dominant, the Filipina cagers led by 37 points.

Castillo paced Gilas with 25 points, including seven triples, while Afril Bernardino continued to do it all for the Filipinas with 14 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Camille Clarin also made up for her scoreless game against Thailand with 11 points to her name.

All players scored at least two points for Gilas.

They also had a good shooting night from beyond the arc as they made 17 triples in the game.

Singapore will be up next for the defending champions on Saturday, May 21.