That historic gold is all but gone.
Gilas Pilipinas Women’s ambitious bid for an historic third straight gold medal in women’s basketball in the Southeast Asian Games is all but over.
That golden dream is technically still alive, but the chance of it happening is now very slim after the Filipina cagers absorbed a 89-68 thrashing at the hands of Indonesia on Friday in Elephant Hall 2 at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh.
Jack Animam and company actually started off strong, racing to a 17-10 advantage early in the first canto behind the efforts of Clare Castro. Gilas was still ahead, 24-18, after the game’s first 12 minutes thanks to Stephanie Berberabe’s last-second jumper to end the first. Gilas extended that lead to 29-20 early in the second frame with timely hits from Castro and Berberabe.
Then, Indonesia started to chip away, and it was all downhill for the history-seeking Gilas team.
Still down 37-35 to start the third, Indonesia uncorked a backbreaking 17-2 run to open the second half anchored on four booming triples—including two from Yuni Anggraeni, who scored a game-high 24 points for the unbeaten Indonesians. Kimberley Pierre Louis, who finished with 20 markers, added a triple and a three-point play in that run, which gave Indonesia a 13-point cushion by the midway part of the third canto.
There was no letting up from there, as Indonesia kept building its lead well into the final buzzer. The Indonesians, which shot 48% from the field overall, are now atop the standings with a pristine 4-0 slate. The Philippines, on the other hand, fell to third with a 2-1 record, a game back of 3-1 Malaysia.
Theoretically, though, Gilas still has a sliver of hope to win the gold. But for that to happen, it needs to win its remaining outings against a trio of regional powerhouses in Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam and hope that Indonesia loses versus hosts Cambodia and Singapore.