SINGAPORE—From the looks of it, Philippine basketball could end up with a golden double after all.
The Philippine women’s basketball team stayed in contention after slipping past Malaysia, 74-63, in the 28th Southeast Asian Games here.
Allana Lim had 20 points while veteran playmaker Merenciana Arayi and Cindy Resultay scored 15 points each, including the clutch free throws that doomed the Malaysians.
They simply needed to win by a margin of seven points to keep their golden hopes flickering after Malaysia shellshocked Thailand, 65-56, the other night.
“I told my girls not to think about the seven points, but take it a point at a time,’’ said head coach Patrick Aquino.
Aquino said they should sweep their remaining assignments—against Indonesia tomorrow and Singapore on Monday—in the six-team, single-round tournament while pray that Malaysia doesn’t conk out on its last two games.
A defeat by Malaysia either against Singapore on Saturday and Vietnam on June 15 would force a two-way tie between the Philippines and Thailand, which earlier defeated the Filipinos by five points.
In such case, the win-over-the-other rule applies, which favors the Thais.
The Gilas Cadets, meanwhile, notched their second win in a row after they blasted Malaysia, 100-48.
After head coach Tab Baldwin criticized the team’s effort in their 81-52 win over Indonesia during their opening match last Wednesday, the Cadets responded with aplomb and opened with a, 20-9 lead in the first quarter.. /With a reporter from Inquirer