RP girls subdue Hong Kong in Fiba Asia caging

The Philippine Careline-Mighty Sports Youth team bounced back from two crushing defeats by downing Hong Kong, 63-55, in the 1st FIBA Asia Under-16 Women's Championship Friday in Pune, India.

Putting the bitter memory of their embarrassing setbacks to the taller and heftier Chinese and Taiwanese squads behind, the Nationals relied on the gutsy plays of Trisha Piatos and Lore Rivera to repulse Hong Kong’s late comeback. With the win, the Nationals finished the Group A elims with a 2-3 record, landing a spot in the battle for seventh place with Malaysia. Piatos led the Nationals with 17 points while Rivera and Tara Araneta combined for 23 points. The Nationals trailed 22-25 at halftime but produced several spurts in the third that saw them build a commanding 52-31 lead. The Hong Kong squad rallied mightily in the payoff period but was quelled by the Filipinas. “Despite our defeats to China and Taiwan, the girls played their hearts out, coming through with a solid defense at crunch time," said RP coach Patrick Aquino. “Against China and Taiwan, we really had no chance because of their tremendous height advantage." The RP girls received a 129-36 thrashing from the mighty Chinese and a 110-30 spanking from the Taiwanese to crash out of the tournament that serves as a qualifier for the 2010 Under-17 World Championship for Women in Rodez and Toulouse, France. - GMANews.TV