Coach Patrick Aquino says preparation the big difference in Gilas Women's loss to China

Preparation—or the lack thereof—played a crucial role in Gilas Pilipinas Women team's massive loss to China in their opening game in the 2021 FIBA Women's Asia Cup, head coach Patrick Aquino believed.

The decorated mentor said that the short amount of training they had to endure due to the long break brought by the pandemic was evident in their 143-52 loss to the Chinese cagers on Monday night (Manila time) in Amman, Jordan.

Gilas was only able to reconvene in a bubble camp in Lipa, Batangas early this month, which was the first time they trained together since bagging two golds in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in late 2019.

In contrast, China was coming off a campaign in the Tokyo Olympics, where they swept all three of their group phase games, including one against Australia, before bowing out in the quarterfinals. 10 of their 12 players in the FIBA Women's Asia Cup are holdovers from their Olympic roster.

"It's about the preparation," Aquino said in the post-game press conference.

"You know, China has always been there and they're coming off from the Olympics. And us, we just practiced [for] like one month so it's really a big difference."

Veteran Afril Bernardino was the lone bring spot in the Gilas opener after she posted 17 points, seven rebounds, and two assists in 30 minutes of play while the next high markers came from Janine Pontejos, who poured in seven.

The nationals were also dealt a huge blow when Clare Castro, the only legit center in the team, and Pontejos both fouled out in the middle of the fourth quarter.

Despite the loss, though, Aquino credited his wards for putting up a fight against the taller and more experienced China team and said they will now aim to do better in the game against Australia.

"But aside from that [lack of preparation], a lot of struggles [and] a lot of turnovers for us. But the girls really tried their hardest and hopefully, in the next game we'll do better."

—JMB, GMA News