8 June 2018
By Maxine Louise Lagman
BOCAUE, Bulacan – The Philippine team went home with a heartache after a winless opening day of FIBA 3×3 World Cup of the women’s division on Friday at the Philippine Arena.
Perlas Pilipinas succumbed to Netherlands 21-11 and Germany 12-10, dropping to the bottom of Pool D with a 0-2 record.
The Philippine team had a hard time keeping up with fourth-ranked Netherlands. Adding to the flame was the powerful Dutch Karin Kuijt, who shot most of her team’s total points in the game.
Both Afril Bernardino and Janine Pontejos tried to match the mighty Dutch, putting two baskets from the deep and blocked any more points from the opponent to cut the lead to five, 10-15.
However, there was no other way of stopping Netherlands from taking the win.
“Netherlands was more experienced and that’s one thing we lack. That’s why I always say we need more exposure going into playing at this level,” said Perlas Pilipinas coach Pat Aquino.
Pontejos had a team-best six points, Bernardino added four and Jack Danielle Aminam added a point. Meanwhile, Gemma Miranda was scoreless.
On the other hand, Perlas Pilipinas was also defeated by the taller and more experienced Germans in the second game as they failed to shoot two-pointers in an attempt of an overtime.
Bernardino once again kept the team afloat at 10-11, but her last attempt on the basket went wide, which left the Germans a chance to escape and win their first win in two games.
Laura Zdravevska and Wiebke Bruns led Germany with four points each, while Luana Rodefeld and Lara Muller added another four.
Bernardino finished with six points, while Miranda had two.
Perlas Pilipinas will next face Spain and Hungary on Sunday
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