June 27 ------ GILAS Pilipinas Women ran away with a 94-65 romp over Samoa to complete a sweep of Group A in the 2022 Fiba Under-16 Women's Asian Championship Division B on Sunday at the Prince Hamza Hall in Amman.
Kristan Geyl Yumul drained five treys for her team-high 22 points as the Filipinos gained an outright semifinal berth in the eight-team showpiece and took a step closer to advancing to the top tier of the competition. Naomi Panganiban tallied 14 points, seven boards, five assists, and three steals, as BJ Villarin got 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench. The Philippines opened the floodgates in the second half, turning a sizeable 15-point lead, 67-52, to its biggest at 28, 83-55, after a Villarin jumper with 7:03 left to play.
That lead further grew to 31 points, 94-63, after a Sierra Jade Patricio trey with 52.1 seconds remaining. Samantha Medina, Camille Nolasco, and Kailah Jade Oani all scored nine points apiece, while Gabby Ramos made up for her four-point outing with her 10 rebounds and four steals for Gilas Women.
It was another scintillating shooting performance for the Philippines as it shot 14-of-40 from beyond the arc and forced Samoa to 30 turnovers that led to 27 easy points. The girls of coaches Julie Amos and Brian Rosario now get a two-day breather as they await their semifinal opponent on Wednesday, motivated to make it back up to Division A for the first time since 2009. As the top seed of Group A, the Philippines will face the winner of the playoff between Group A third seed Samoa and Group B two-seed, still to be decided among Iran, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, and Jordan.
Kira-May Filemu paced Samoa with 28 points and 27 rebounds, but committed 14 turnovers in the defeat. Azaleeah Oloapu also chipped in 18 points and 12 boards as the Samoans dropped to 1-2.
The scores:
PHILIPPINES 94 - Yumul 22, Panganiban 14, Villarin 13, Oani 9, Nolasco 9, Medina 9, Fajardo 8, Ramos 4, Elson 3, Patricio 3, Lopez 0.
SAMOA 65 - Filemu 28, Oloapu 18, Tutani 9, Keresoma 4, Hogben 2, Hiko 2, Walshe 2, Talosaga 0, Kiliva 0.
Quarters: 26-19, 49-34, 71-52, 94-65.
Source: spin.ph