In a valiant fourth-quarter comeback attempt, the Gilas Pilipinas women’s team was unable to overcome Korea's prowess in the 42nd William Jones Cup held at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium in Taiwan on Tuesday, August 8.
Korea secured a 65-59 victory.
The offensive charge was led by familiar faces Janine Pontejos and Jack Animam, as they rallied the Filipinas to narrow the gap.
However, the Busan BNK Sum of the Women’s Korean Basketball League had built a significant lead that proved sufficient to withstand the surge until the final buzzer.
Facing a daunting 16-point deficit of 40-24 by halftime, the Filipino team managed to ignite their offense during the third quarter.
Despite their efforts, they couldn't halt the Korean team, which boasts the most titles in the Jones Cup.
As the final quarter began, Gilas Women's opponents still retained a comfortable lead of 57-41.
Gilas was led by Kacey Quinn Dela Rosa, who contributed 14 points and pulled down an impressive 15 rebounds.
Pontejos played a pivotal role, scoring six of her 12 points during the crucial fourth quarter surge.
Although Animam had a challenging offensive performance, she made her presence felt by contributing all four of her points in the same quarter and securing 10 rebounds.
Looking ahead, Gilas will square off against Japan on Wednesday in a bid to conclude their campaign.
Thus far, their sole victory in the tournament came against Iran, with a score of 64-60, this past Sunday.
