Gilas Pilipinas Women lose big to Australia in Fiba Asia Cup opener

Gilas Pilipinas Women were no match for heavyweight Australia in a 123-57 loss at the start of the 2019 Fiba Women’s Asia Cup Tuesday at Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bangalore, India.

Parading a squad featuring a slew of players with WNBA experience, Australia quickly built a commanding lead in the first quarter to take the fight out of the Philippines early.

The Australians showed no mercy in the second half, where they outscored Gilas, 66-23, including a 25-6 domination in the third period.

All 12 Aussies scored with 6-foot-4 forward Ezi Magbegor, who was drafted 12th overall by the Seattle Storm in the 2019 WNBA Draft, leading the way with 18 points on an 8-of-10 clip. Jenna O’Hea, a former WNBA veteran, added 17 points.

Gemma Miranda and Afril Bernardino were the only Gilas players to reach double-digits with Miranda scoring a team-high 17 on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Bernardino added 15 points on top of four rebounds and two blocks.

Gilas shot just 31 percent from the field while Australia hit 54 percent of its attempts. The Aussies also assisted on 41 of their 46 made field goals.

The Philippines, which is competing in Division A for the second straight time, takes on China on Wednesday.