Gilas Pilipinas Women were quickly blown out of the water in their matchup against the no. 2 Opals to start their FIBA Women’s Asia Cup campaign.
Gilas Pilipinas Women found themselves severely outmatched against Australia as they absorbed an 76-point beatdown, 115-39, in their opening game of the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup at the Shenzhen Sports Center in China on Sunday.
After showing some early signs of fight, Gilas Women were quickly buried by the towering Opals, who took advantage of their bigger roster against a small ball Philippine team.
In the first quarter, Australia looked ready to run away early when they started on a blistering 12-0 run.
But Vanessa de Jesus scored the Philippines’ first five points in the game to finally put Gilas on the board.
The Notre Dame guard’s mini-run sparked a 9-2 burst that had Gilas Women within five, 14-9, after a Naomi Panganiban basket with 5:44 left in the opening quarter.
However, that was the end of any real fight that Gilas Women had in the tank as the world no. 2 Opals blew the game wide open with a 17-5 run to end the quarter.
De Jesus was the top scorer of Gilas Pilipinas with nine points, three rebounds, one assists, while Naomi Panganiban added eight markers. Gilas Women debutant Kent Pastrana also had eight points for the national team.
Meanwhile, Gilas veteran Jack Animam struggled as she was limited to just two points on a dismal 1-of-11 shooting clip.
Miela Goodchild, who played with de Jesus during her college years in Duke, paced the Opals with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting. The reigning FIBA Women’s Asia Cup bronze medalists are flaunting a new roster this time around, with only one holdover from the 2023 team.
Despite the big loss, Gilas will still have a lot to play for with two remaining games in the group phase and a shot at the quarterfinals.
But Gilas Women will have another tough opponent on deck as they prepare to face world no. 9 Japan on Monday, July 14.