Perlas Pilipinas falls to Indonesia anew as road to gold gets tougher

Perlas Pilipinas quickly lost its luster, dropping a 78-68 decision to Indonesia just a day after its sparkling debut against Singapore in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.

Buoyed by a big Filipino crowd at MABA Stadium, the Philippines fought hard, but Indonesia proved to be too much in the end as a familiar narrative was rewritten.

The Filipinos also yielded to the Indonesians in the 2015 SEA Games with Natasha Christaline leading the way.

Christaline was brilliant yet again, scoring 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. Yuni Anggraeni also made a big impact with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The setback to Indonesia, just like before, dealt a huge blow to the Philippines’ bid to bag its breakthrough gold medal in women’s basketball.

Perlas took a 41-34 lead at the half but its shooting turned sour in the second half while Christaline caught fire for Indonesia, which gained a 59-50 advantage entering the final frame.

Allana Lim had 15 points for PH, which ripped Singapore, 88-54, in the opener, while Camille Sambile added 14.