Gilas Women fall short vs Korea, drop to 1-3 in Jones Cup

The Gilas Pilipinas Women national team was unable to complete a comeback attempt as they fell to South Korea, 65-59, in the 2023 William Jones Cup on Tuesday in Taiwan.

Gilas Women dropped to 1-3 in the single round tournament after also absorbing a loss to Chinese Taipei B on Monday. Korea notched its first win of the tournament, improving to 1-3.

Down by 16, 40-24, at the end of the first half, the Filipinas were able to get their offense going in the third quarter. But they were unable to put a stop to the Koreans, who also happened to be the team with the most titles in the Jones Cup, as Gilas Women's opponents still held the upper hand, 57-41, ahead of the fourth frame.

In the payoff period, Gilas put on the clamps as it limited Korea to just eight points while converting 18 on the other end. Despite the rally, Korea's cushion proved big enough as the Philippines' comeback ultimately fell short.

Kacey Dela Rosa led the way with 14 points while veteran Janine Pontejos chipped in 12.

Jack Animam and Afril Bernardino, who both had huge games last night, were held to just four and two markers, respectively. Bernardino scored 22 points in the game versus Chinese Taipei B while Animam posted 18 points and nine rebounds in the previous contest.

The Philippines and South Korea also recently met in the 2023 FIBA Women's Asia Cup last July 1 in Sydney, Australia, with the Koreans also coming out on top, 80-71, in a 5th-6th classification round match.

Gilas will next face Japan on Wednesday in bid to end their campaign on a winning note.

Their lone win in the tournament so far came against Iran, 64-60, last Sunday.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News