Gilas Pilipinas Women could have fallen simply wanting a semifinals slot within the 2023 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup, however head coach Patrick Aquino believes their valiant exhibiting of their marketing campaign was proof that they belong on this stage.
The multi-titled tactician mentioned the aim heading into the match was to be aggressive on this stage. And given the outcomes achieved by the Filipinas thus far, Aquino mentioned they’re heading in the right direction.
“It’s a big leap for us, it’s a giant step for us doing this and making us competitive and hopefully we could do better and prepare more,” Aquino mentioned on the heels of a detailed 83-78 loss to New Zealand on Friday.
“Our goal was to really compete and show that we belong. The win against Chinese Taipei is what we needed for that and with that win, the confidence is overflowing right now.”
It has been a notable marketing campaign for the Philippines on this Asia Cup. Though that they had a troublesome begin with blowout losses to Australia and Japan, they bounced again with a giant 92-81 win in opposition to Chinese Taipei – the staff’s first in Division A of the competitors since being promoted to this stage in 2015.
The victory additionally allowed them to complete third of their group and punch a ticket to the semifinal qualification sport.
The gallant Gilas squad then gave the Tall Ferns an enormous scare earlier than falling brief in the long run to bow out of rivalry and miss out on a spot within the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Still, they had been capable of present that they had been right here to compete.
“We felt we fell short. It was a good game for us, we competed, and we felt that really now, we can compete with the best of the best in Asia and hopefully, when we come back we’ll be stronger,” Aquino added.
“Probably the composure was getting low at the time and I think we made some crucial errors at the end.”
Gilas will nonetheless see motion within the battle for fifth place, however Aquino mentioned what that they had already achieved within the Asia Cup at this level is one thing to be happy with.
“I just wanna say that I’m proud of the girls. They did well,” he mentioned.
“I feel that with this performance, more kids back home will be following us and would be aiming to be one of the Gilas Women.”
—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
