NO longer in contention for promotion to Division A, Gilas Pilipinas Women look to salvage a bronze medal finish in the 2022 Fiba Under-16 Women's Asian Championship Division B.
"Even though we weren't happy with the result, I think this game will help our girls build their characters and understand that you gotta have poise when it's a close game," said coach Julie Amos on the heels of the Philippines' shock 88-70 loss to Samoa in the semifinals on Wednesday.
It's a bitter pill for the Pinays to swallow especially after running roughshod in the group stages with three wins to boot.
Yet Gilas Women picked the wrong time to have its guns muffled as it found itself on a hole it could not recover from, shooting just 21-percent from deep against Samoa after making 36-percent of its long bombs in its first three games.
Worse, Samoa dominated the Philippines on the paint, crashing the boards, 72 to 39, which led to 52 points in the paint and 19 second chance points in their favor.
"We knew the game was going to come down to points in the paint and unfortunately, Samoa created opportunities for themselves by targeting key matchups and crashing the offensive boards," lamented coach Brian Rosario.
Past is past though, and Gilas Women is picking itself up, dusting itself off, and turning its sights to its final game as it plays for the bronze medal against Lebanon on Thursday.
"What we saw in the locker room after the game were eyes filled with fire and determination to finish this championship with a win," said Rosario. "Our team is resilient. Filipinos are resilient, and the pride our team has for the country is shown in the way they play the game no matter the score."
Amos ended: "Playing to win bronze will be our mission and I’m confident our girls will bounce back knowing that they got support from our coaching staff, the fans here in Jordan, and the people of the Philippines."
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