BANGKOK, Thailand — Gilas Pilipinas waited two years for payback and its dethroning of Indonesia felt so good.
Kacey dela Rosa compensated her sour field goal shooting with steady hands from the foul line to lead the Filipinas to a dominating 66-55 win over the Indonesians in the semifinals of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games on Thursday at the Nimibutr Stadium.
Meanwhile, Gilas Pilipinas made it to the men’s basketball finals after escaping Indonesia, 71-68, in the semifinals of the men’s event.
Gilas will defend their SEA Games gold medal on Friday against either host Thailand or Malaysia, who are competing in a separate semis match at press time.
Gilas girls pounced early to build a 14-point lead after the first 10 minutes of action.
It was all Philippines from there as Gilas Women exacted revenge on the Indonesian side that knocked it off the throne after a back-to-back reign in Cambodia two years ago.
“I’m just so proud of the girls. They never gave up again. It’s just that they’re trying to do their best all the time and believing that they could do it. I know this was a tough game,” Gilas head coach Pat Aquino said.
“Indonesia has been preparing for this. They are the defending champion. We’re just happy we won this game.”
Dela Rosa led the Pinay cagers with 21 points, 17 coming from the free throw line, but shot 3-of-10 from the field.
Skipper Afril Bernardino finished with 14 points while Janine Pontejos scored 10.
Gilas will face either Thailand or Malaysia in the championship today at 5:30 p.m. (Manila time).
Aquino pointed out that Gilas’ scintillating start aided the squad in the rout of what was expected to be a tight match.
“That was big because every time we started slowly. We told them we have to have a good start with this team and go all the way,” Aquino added.
Gilas led by as many as 19 after erecting a 37-18 lead early in the second period.