Gilas Women’s Ella Fajardo in her national team debut. FIBA BASKETBALL
Crushed by one continental basketball power and tossed into the path of yet another one, it would have been easy for Gilas Pilipinas to just accept that they don’t belong in the elite group of the Fiba (International Basketball Federation) Women’s Asia Cup.
Ella Fajardo, however, refuses to believe so.
After a 91-point beating at the hands of mighty China, Fajardo believes the Philippines can dig deeper and come up with a more noteworthy performance when it faces tournament favorite Australia on Wednesday in Jordan.
“Coach (Patrick Aquino) said that we played our hardest; but I know for a fact, [and] I can speak on behalf of the team, that we have more to bring,” Fajardo, who had six points in her seniors debut, said after the Philippines’ 143-52 loss to the taller and more athletic Chinese on Monday.
“And we just ask for your continued support because we have more in us. Things that we can control really. Getting back on defense for example, that’s something we can control,” the Fairleigh Dickinson University guard in the US NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) added.
Bad defense
Getting back on defense could have certainly shaved off a lot of the margin.
China forced the Philippines into 24 turnovers and sprinted off to easy transition baskets, scoring 34 points in that department alone.
The Chinese also shot 67 percent from the field and had a whopping 52 assists on just 12 turnovers.
“We just practiced like one month and it’s really a big difference in preparation but aside from that, a lot of struggles, a lot of turnovers for us,” national team coach Pat Aquino said.
“But the girls really tried very hard and hopefully, the next game we’ll do better.” INQ