Gilas Pilipinas Women in the 31st SEA Games. SBP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines bolted out the gates hard and went on to run roughshod over host Vietnam, 118-87, to stay perfect in the 31 Southeast Asian Games women’s basketball tournament Thursday night.
Gilas Pilipinas women buried the hosts in holes as deep as 26 points in the opening frame before cruising to a third straight victory at Thanh Tri Gymnasium in Hanoi that had the Nationals easing out front in the race.
The Nationals remain the only unbeaten squad in the showcase and are now looking to even more of a cinch to repeat as gold medal winners.
Khate Castillo led the way for the Philippines with 24 points, built on a 7-for-11 shooting from three-point land. Afril Bernardino and Elisha Bade chipped in 14 each to highlight yet another collective scoring performance for the Philippines.
Vietnam pulled with 18 in the third frame but Gilas’ deadly shooting snuffed any hopes of the hosts mounting a comeback, widening the gap by 37 points during the payoff frame.
The Philippines will take Friday off before shooting for another win against Singapore 10 a.m. this coming Saturday. Gilas will wrap things up against Malaysia on Sunday.