A fatigued Gilas Pilipinas women’s 3x3 team fell against Chinese Taipei, 19-9, ending what had been a gallant campaign in the FIBA Asia Cup on Sunday at the Singapore Sports Hub.
The Filipina cagebelles held their own against the taller Taiwanese side early on, but the effect of playing their sixth straight games dating back to the qualifying draw and the injury to Mikka Cacho soon caught up with them.
Held to an even 5-5 count in the first seven minutes of their quarterfinals match, the eight-seeded Chinese Taipei went to its advantage by pounding the ball inside to put together an 8-1 run for a 13-6 lead from which it never looked back.
Cacho, bravely playing on one healthy leg with her right knee heavily wrapped up, finished with three points alongside Camille Clarin, but high-scoring Jhazmin Joson was held down to just a single point including 0-for-5 from the two-point range.
The quarterfinal stint matched the same finish Gilas women had in last year’s edition of the continental showpiece.
Towering Yu Chieh Chen paced the Taiwanese with eight points and six rebounds.
In the semifinals, Chinese Taipei will meet New Zealand, which eked out a close 15-14 win over Japan in their quarterfinal encounter.
Earlier, defending champion Australia sealed a semifinal showdown against Mongolia after dispatching their respective quarterfinal foes.
The Mongolians booted out top seed China, 20-7, while the Aussies made short work of Thailand, 21-8.
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