HANOI – Gilas Pilipinas Women hope to keep its spotless record when it faces Vietnam on Thursday in the 31st Southeast Asian Games at the Thanh Tri Gymnasium.
The match is at 5 p.m. (6 p.m. Philippine time) with the Philippines eyeing a third win in the round-robin tournament with the first placer being named as champion.
See Afril Bernardino posts double-double as Gilas Women rip Thailand
Gilas is expected to play in front of a packed house as Vietnam games have been drawing crowds from the locals.
“Lagi natin sinasabi na take one game at a time. We are going to be ready. I know it’s going to be difficult against the host country but we will do our very best,” said Gilas coach Pat Aquino.
“One factor is the crowd. Everybody is really cheering. I hope na hindi tayo maapektuhan. Sabi ko nga sa kanila, alam niyo na ‘yung crowd, nandiyan lahat, sana ma-overcome natin ‘yun and play our game. Let’s show how Gilas Pilipinas play women’s basketball,” said Aquino.
Gabi Bade and Co. try to keep their record unblemished.
Aquino has been drawing big games from Afril Bernardino but it has been a collective effort thus far in the SEA Games competition in their bid for a second straight gold with no player averaging less than four points a game.
“Iniisip namin ‘yung teamwork na ginagawa namin. Kapag pinasok ka, all out ka lahat. Lagi sinasabi ni coach Pat na okay lang mapagod, may papalit sa inyo,” said Bernadino, who is averaging 18 points and 12.5 rebounds in the SEA Games.
Vietnam is in a must-win to improve its chances of a medal as they are at 1-1 win-loss going into the contest.
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