A flat start doomed Gilas Pilipinas Girls in a loss to Chinese Taipei, closing out the FIBA U16 Women’s Asia Cup in 6th place.
Gilas Pilipinas Girls stumbled to a sluggish start and ultimately succumbed to Chinese Taipei, 72-103, to settle for sixth place in the FIBA Under-16 Women’s Asia Cup on Saturday, Sept. 27.
The Filipinas trailed 14-3 in the opening quarter and never recovered, closing their campaign with back-to-back losses in the tournament held in Malaysia.
Ryanna Roman netted a team-high 19 points to pace the Philippines, while Makena Ramos added 14 markers in a game where the Filipinas never led and fell behind by as many as 31 points.
Despite the defeat, the sixth-place finish still matched the country’s best performance in the tournament, tying the mark set in 2011 in China.
Zi-Qiao Gao fired 26 points to steer Chinese Taipei to victory, salvaging their campaign after missing the semifinals with a narrow loss to New Zealand.
Yu-Tung Chang added 19 markers, while Hsun-Wen Chang and Nian Zhen Lin combined for 27 points in a balanced effort.
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Pao Ambat earned his journalism degree from Cavite State University in 2022.
Passionate about sports from a young age, he primarily covers the NBA for One Sports, while also assisting in reporting on the PVL, PBA, UAAP, and other leagues.