Pinay ballers bounce back strong, too

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas women, despite a three-peat bid already out of their hands, moved forward and took care of business against Vietnam, 116-58, in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games yesterday at the Morodok Techo Stadium Elephant Hall 2 in Phnom Penh.

Licking the wounds of a costly loss to Indonesia, the Filipina ballers vented their ire on their Vietnamese counterparts, coming through with a big rebound ignited by a 33-9 gap in the second quarter.

Gilas improved to 3-1 ahead of its last assignments in Malaysia and Thailand, but with a long shot now at retaining the gold with unbeaten Indonesia (4-0) looking cinch at becoming the new queen barring major upsets against Cambodia and Singapore.

The Indonesians thrashed the Filipinas, 89-68, in a crucial match Friday.

Unlike the men’s division playing format with playoffs, women teams duke it out in a single-round robin elims with the No. 1 team automatically capturing the gold medal.

Six players scored in double figures for Gilas led by Khate Castillo with 22 points on seven triples. Jack Animam hauled down a 16-13 double-double. while Clare Castro and Afril Bernardino had 15 and 12 points, respectively.