It was the first time for Gilas Pilipinas Women to play outside the boundaries of FIBA Asia but they quickly proved they belonged on the world stage.
Giving FIBA’s eighth-ranked team in Brazil all they could handle, the Philippines fell a bit short, losing 77-74, in Rwanda.
Down by a single point, sharpshooter Khate Castillo found herself wide open for a corner triple after a sharp pass from Janine Pontejos. However, the usually deadly shooter was a little bit off giving possession back to the Brazilians.
Caca Martins made two free throws that stretched their lead to three points but Gilas had one more shot at it. They went back to Castillo but she was forced to a tough shot by Brazil’s defense as they escaped with the win.
Jack Animam was a force inside with a monster double-double of 18 points and 21 rebounds. She made 8 of 11 attempts from the field to power the offense for Gilas. Backing her up was Afril Bernardino who had 15 points and seven rebounds in the contest.
Naomi Panganiban, the youngest player in the entire tournament as she’s coming fresh off a Gilas U18 stint, had a tremendous elite level debut with 13 markers, five rebounds, and four assists.
Gilas is 40th in FIBA’s women’s basketball rankings but it did not look like it as they forced the Brazilians to take tough shots en route to a paltry 32% from the field. The Filipina ballers also had seven steals and six blocks, four courtesy of Animam.
Leticia Soares led Brazil with 15 points even if she only played 13 minutes. Emanuely De Oliveira chipped in 13 while Maria Albiero added 12.
“The girls fought hard. And that’s what we stand for: puso,” said Gilas Pilipinas Women head coach Pat Aquino.
When asked about Castillo’s missed opportunity to push Gilas ahead, Aquino said it was exactly the shot they wanted.
“It was a great play. It was great execution from them,” he said. “The mindset right now is that they can play here and they belong. We hope to continue that mindset and hopefully get a win.”
Animam, who is already one of the veterans in the team even if she’s only 25 years old, could not help but still be excited about the future of Gilas even after the loss.
“It’s a tough loss but personally it’s not a loss for us. We’re such a young team but to be here and to see them play like that against a top 10 team in the world. I couldn’t be more proud. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain here,” Animam said.
“This is their (younger Gilas players) first game playing against professional players, veterans, grown-up women, and for them to put up a fight like that, I think for the coming games, we’re going to build on that momentum and definitely a lot of improvement and a lot of learnings we got from this game.”
Animam’s comfort in playing at this level was no longer a surprise after her exploits all over the world and her younger teammates looked to her for leadership every time things got difficult.
“I’m just 25 but I feel like I’m so old because I’ve been playing with the team since I was 16,” she said.
“Even though I’m still young, the experience I got playing with Gilas and playing overseas, I try to guide them and give them advice. I just tell them not to be scared. I had teammates who guided me and helped me when I was down. Now I’m the ate. It’s a privilege to share my learnings and my experience. Now, I’m passing the baton slowly. We have so much talent and I’m beaming with pride.
Gilas will have to bounce back quickly after the loss as they will face off against Hungary on August 20 at 11 pm. The Hungarians, ranked 16th in the world, lost their debut game against Senegal, 63-61, so they’ll be extra motivated to score a bounce-back win. Gilas will have to figure out how to slow down Debora Dubei, who led Hungary with 24 points on 7 of 11 shooting against Senegal.