CHONBURI, Thailand - Gilas Pilipinas Women shook off a slow start to beat Malaysia, 76-67, on Saturday at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games basketball competition at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok.
National team newcomer Sophia Dignadice and Kacey Dela Rosa anchored the Filipinos' comeback from 66-58 down to claim the victory and avoid the upset defeat in its opening match.
“They played their hearts out. They never gave up,” said Gilas Women coach Pat Aquino. “Just happy for them to get out of that first game jitters.”
“Malaysia played well. I want to commend them for that. They (Gilas) played hard. They don’t want to give up.”
At the same time, Aquino was very much happy with the play of Dignadice.
“Happy for her na nakapaglaro siya ng ganyan. A lot of mistakes pa, but still, give her that confidence that she needs; not just her, but everyone. Marami pa kaming kailangan gawin at adjustments. Tough win, but we will get that and hopefully move on,” he said.
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