TIFFANY Reyes scored a buzzer-beater on her 15th birthday to lift Gilas Pilipinas U16 Women to a 77-75 win over Korea to clinch a berth in the quarterfinal round of the FIBA U16 Women’s Asia Cup on Wednesday in Seramban, Malaysia.
Reyes knocked down a jumper from the free throw line to give Gilas U16 Women its first victory of the tournament, enough to progress to the next phase.
Reyes, playing for Sycamore High School in the U.S., put the Filipinos in position to win, grabbing the offensive rebound and forcing the jumpball following a split trip to the foul line by Ruiza Olmos, with the Philippines gaining the nod of the possession arrow.
The daughter of former PBA player Jay-R Reyes calmly sank the jumper, faking off her defender before making the shot to disappoint the Korean squad that came back from a nine-point deficit after leading by 10 at one point during the third quarter.
Gilas gets it to go
Gilas U16 coached by Julie Amos got the victory following two blowout losses to begin the tournament, 123-42 to Australia then 74-48 to Chinese Taipei.
Reyes finished with 16 points and knocked down a three to make it a 69-60 lead only for Korea to even take the lead, 75-74, on a basket by Seun Lim.
Ella Smith top-scored for Gilas U16 Women with 21 points, as the Filipinos wait for their opponent in the next phase as of posting time.
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