As SEAG gold medal bid takes huge hit, Gilas Pilipinas Women vow to 'keep fighting'

PHNOM PENH — Gilas Pilipinas Women's bid for their third consecutive gold medal took a huge hit when the Filipina ballers fell to Indonesia on Friday to take its first loss in the ongoing 32nd SEA Games here.

But regardless of where they'll end up finishing in the competition, the nationals vowed that they would keep the fight.

"We came here to play games. Whatever the result is, they have purpose in it. So until the game is over, we'll keep fighting," said head coach Patrick Aquino on Saturday.

"Laban lang ng laban."

That was proven true when Gilas Women bounced back with a convincing 116-58 victory against Vietnam on Saturday.

Khate Castillo led a balanced attack for the Philippines, finishing with 22 points off the bench alongside three rebounds and one steal while five others reached double digit scoring to steer the country.

Even Aquino himself was surprised by how strongly his players rebounded from the defeat.

"I couldn't believe it myself also. I told them it's not just a good bounce-back (win) but it was the greatest bounce-back that I've ever had in my career," Aquino added.

The Philippines, with wins over Cambodia, Singapore, and now, Vietnam, sit in solo third in the team standings behind Indonesia (4-0) and Malaysia (4-1).

Mathematically, Gilas still has a chance to win the gold, but they'll need some unlikely breaks to go their way to be able to pull it off.

The team will face Thailand next on Sunday, at 11 a.m., before taking on the Malaysians on Monday.

"I couldn't afford (to lose). Even if Thailand hasn't won yet, I think they're  still a strong team. They're preparing on the next SEA Games and we need to also focus."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News