Chinese Taipei pulls plug on Phl’s bid

Gilas Pilipinas bid the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games farewell after receiving the boot from Chinese Taipei, 71-83, in the knockout quarterfinal of women’s 5x5 basketball on Thursday at the Aichi International Arena.

The Filipinas tried to shake off a bad start and mounted a scorching rally in the third quarter, which trimmed the Taiwanese once imposing 16-point lead to just five late in the period.

Gilas Women, however, failed to sustain their momentum and eventually lost steam as Chinese Taipei returned fire with its own barrage of baskets at the end of the third and early into the payoff period to extinguish the Philippines’ uprising.

The Pinay cagers settled for a fifth-place finish, duplicating their achievement in the pandemic-delayed Hangzhou edition three years ago.

Team captain Afril Bernardino poured her heart out on the floor and unloaded a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds in an effort that didn’t translate to a much-needed win for Gilas Women.

Janine Pontejos and Stefani Berberabe had 12 points each while Kent Pastrana scored 11 for Gilas Women.

Naturalized player Beth Means struggled from the field, with Chinese Taipei’s defense hounding her as she was held down to only four points on a hellish 1-of-10 shooting clip.

Gilas Women got into early trouble after scoring nine points in the opening period and entered the halftime break down by eight.

The Taiwanese built a 50-34 separation on a Ya-en Han triple with 7:37 left in the third before Gilas Women went on a 22-11 tear behind Berberabe, Pastrana, Pontejos and Bernardino.

Bernardino’s fastbreak and-one layup pushed the Philippines to its closest, 61-56, with 29.8 seconds remaining. She, however, missed her bonus foul shot.

Chinese Taipei countered with nine unanswered points and stayed within safe distance the rest of the way as the Gilas Women ended their campaign with back-to-back losses.

Yu-wen Hsiao had a double-double of 14 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Taiwanese, who will face in the semifinal the winner between host Japan and Thailand. Skipper Lin Chuan Huang scored 13, Han got 11 while Yu-ting Lin added 10.

Also advancing to the Final Four are defending champion China and South Korea.

The Chinese beat Mongolia, 89-63, while the South Koreans crushed Indonesia, 101-59.