Gilas lasses pick up pieces to salvage bronze in India

Sumayah Sugapong holds her own against formidable opposition to average 14 a game. —FIBA.COM

Still reeling from a heartbreaking loss, the Philippines held its head up on Sunday and picked Samoa apart with methodical precision, 84-68, to salvage a bronze medal in the 2022 Fiba (International Basketball Federation) U-18 Women’s Asian Championship Division B in India.

The Gilas Youth used a blistering third quarter to pocket some sort of consolation and double its payback against the same nation that denied the Nationals a chance of playing in the finalé of the U-16 showcase held in Jordan back in June. Newcomer Sumayah Sugapong was again at the cutting edge of that cutthroat attack at Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru where the Philippines outscored Samoa, 28-8.

The Filipino-American guard put up 27 points, had six rebounds and a pair of assists that went with nine whopping steals.

Louna Ozar, also a new talent reeled in for the Pat Aquino-mentored squad, finished with 15 points that went with six rebounds and four assists.

Kristan Yumul, one of the few holdovers from the crew that nursed that heartbreak two months ago, added 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals as the Philippines asserted its mastery over the Samoans, whom it beat during the group phase on the way earning an outright passage to the final four.

The Philippines lost to Malaysia, 66-65, in overtime of their semifinal clash the night before, laying to waste a stellar sweep that also mirrored Gilas’ botched campaign last June.

Aquino was understandably still nursing a broken heart on Sunday. But the soft-spoken mentor has also begun turning his sights on the program’s future.

“It was a heartbreaking loss after falling short by a point to Malaysia, but the girls picked it up and showed character today,” he told the Inquirer.

“We were down by 14 [against Malaysia], but they had a gutsy performance and played good defense. Not the result we wanted but it was the lesson that the team needed.”

Aquino is now pinning Gilas’ future on the same playbook that gave this crew a deep run: identifying capable players that could immensely contribute to the program right off the bat and keep its engine humming.

The biggest testaments to such a working formula were Sugapong, Ozar and Kate Bobadilla, the crafty guard that kept the game against Malaysia within reach.

Bobadilla and Sugapong led the Philippines in scoring throughout the tournament. The former averaged 15.2 points per game for fifth-best in the showcase. The latter, meanwhile, registered 14.0 to wind up as No. 6. Both have committed to play in the US National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Ozar, Gilas’ third finest weapon with 11.4 points across five games, has been playing for ESB Villeneuve-d’Ascq Lille Metropole in France.

“We still have another 3×3 tournament in October for Fiba U-17. As for our Gilas program, we’ll continue our training and keep developing our grassroots youth program,” Aquino said.

“There are still a lot of untapped talents,” he added. INQ