Naomi Panganiban stars, but Gilas Women fall to hot-shooting Chinese Taipei B in Jones Cup opener

Naomi Panganiban starred in her seniors debut, but Gilas Pilipinas just could not find the answer to the fiery offense of Chinese Taipei, absorbing a 73-60 loss to kick off their campaign at the William Jones Cup on Saturday in Taiwan. 

The Filipinas were able to close the gap in the third quarter but Chinese Taipei caught fire in the fourth to ultimately seal the deal and take a 1-0 lead in the women's division. The Philippine bet, meanwhile, fell to a 0-1 slate.

Despite the loss, the young Panganiban provided the huge spark after finishing with a team-high of 16 points alongside one rebound, two assists, and one steal just days after leading the U18 squad to the Division B title of the FIBA U18 Asia Cup in China. 

A jumper from the 18-year-old Panganiban trimmed Gilas' deficit to just seven before entering the payoff period, but Chinese Taipei suddenly went hot from the rainbow country. 

Three straight triples from them sent the Philippines to a 71-57 hole before Panganiban tried to stage a desperate late comeback attempt with a jumper of her own. 

However, that can't rally Gilas back from the huge gap as Chinese Taipei cruised to the victory. 

Veteran Afril Bernardino provided the lift with 14 points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal while Jack Animam chipped in 10 markers, highlighted by a crucial three-point play late in the third, together with 11 boards, two swats, and two blocks. 

Gilas will look to bounce back on Sunday when it takes on Malaysia at 3 p.m. 

—JKC, GMA Integrated News