Perlas shine, sink Lady Sailors

Allana Lim and Tantoy Ferrer combined forces as Discovery handed Philippine Navy its first loss, 80-71, in the 2025 Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (WMPBL) Invitational late Wednesday at the Enderun Colleges Gym in Taguig.

Lim and Ferrer delivered efficient performances to help Perlas improve to a 2-1 record in this prestigious women’s club league.

The 36-year-old former national team mainstay Lim poured in 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting while also contributing eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Ferrer, a former University of Santo Tomas (UST) standout, matched her output with 20 points on an 8-of-11 clip, adding nine rebounds and three assists.

The Lady Sailors trailed by 13 points in the final period but attempted a comeback behind Afril Bernardino, who drained a three-pointer to spark a 7-0 run, trimming Perlas’ lead to just six, 68-62, with 5:47 remaining.

However, Ferrer responded with a clutch triple to push the lead back to nine, 71-62. Lim then sealed Discovery’s second straight win by scoring the next three baskets.

Raiza Palmera-Dy, Angel Anies and Camille Sambile contributed nine points each for Perlas.

Despite four players scoring in double figures, Navy dropped to 2-1.

Gemma Miranda led the charge with 19 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Bernardino put up an all-around effort with 16 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and three blocks, while Janelle Mendoza added 13 points and eight boards and Andrea Tongco chipped in 12 points.

Meanwhile, Pilipinas Aguilas and New Zealand-Bluefire also secured dominant victories.

Following a narrow loss to Navy last Sunday, the Aguilas bounced back with a resounding 78-52 win over San Juan.

Elaine Etang led the charge, finishing with 21 points, six rebounds, and three assists as Pilipinas Aguilas improved to 2-1.

“I think the adjustments we made after the last game worked for us. That game was about improving our chemistry, and you can see that everybody contributed,” Aguilas head coach Ryan Monteclaro said.

Filipino-Hawaiian forward Alexis Pana, who previously played for European clubs Kibirkstis Vilnius in Lithuania and CS Universitatea Cluj in Romania, recorded a stellar double-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals.

New Zealand-Bluefire also bounced back from a previous defeat with a dominant 71-38 victory over PSP for its second straight win.

The win held special significance for the Valkyries as one of their key supporters, Andoy Reyes, celebrated his birthday on the same day.