The Philippine women’s national basketball team ended their 2023 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup campaign on a sour note, dropping their battle for fifth match versus 12-time champion South Korea, 71-80, Saturday afternoon in Sydney.
6’1” forward Park Ji-Hyun exploded for 24 points and four steals while 6’6” center Park Ji-Su scored 11 points and hauled 16 boards to power the world number 12 to a fifth place finish after placing fourth in the past three editions.
The Koreans, leading by double digits in the second and third quarters, experienced a scare as the gritty Filipinas opened the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run off interior attacks from Afril Bernardino, Jack Animam, and Vanessa de Jesus to trim the erstwhile 15-point lead to just five, 61-66, early in the period.
Midway in the quarter, Gilas went behind by only one possession, 68-71, through another driving layup by Bernardino but Park Ji-su’s domination on the offensive glass led to an open triple by veteran sniper Kang Lee-Seul to increase the lead by six.
De Jesus, scoreless for the first three quarters, fired the last bullets in the Philippines’ artillery with a three-point play past Park Ji-Hyun but her succeeding missed jumper, a penetration by France Cabinbin blocked by Park Ji-Su, and a missed triple by Janine Pontejos buried Gilas women.
Bernardino led her team with 16 points, nine rebounds, and three steals while Animam and Khate Castillo added 12 each.
De Jesus had another bad outing, scoring all of her five points in the fourth quarter off 2/13 shooting from the field.
The prized recruit from the fabled Duke University averaged only 4.5 points post-group stage after scoring 18.3 points in three games in Group B
Despite the loss, the Philippines achieved its best finish in the Asia Cup since 1984, placing sixth among eight teams in the top tier Division A after placing seventh in the last four editions.
For one, the Philippines had their narrowest loss with both South Korea and New Zealand in their head-to-head history.
In 2019, Gilas lost, 75-114, versus South Korea in the 2020 Olympic qualifiers while yesterday, the Pinays lost, 78-83, against the Kiwis in the semis playoffs after suffering a 54-111 loss in said Olympic qualifiers.
The team achieved a silver lining as they have defeated Taiwan, 92-81, for the first time in team history.
The Philippines missed a ticket in the 2024 Paris Olympics world qualifying tournament with the result but will stay in Division A for the 2025 Asia Cup.
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