Gilas Youth cruise past Thailand in U18 Women’s Asian Championship opener
Published on September 6, 2022

Gilas Pilipinas Youth opened their FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship 2022 campaign with a resounding 65-50 win over Thailand on Monday in India. 

Kate Bobadilla erupted for 22 points on 53.3 percent shooting to lead the team. She was backed up by Kristian Yumul, who scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds, while Camille Nolasco added eight points, seven rebounds, and three steals.

Gilas Youth jumped out to an early 12-2 advantage behind a total team effort on both ends of the floor. Thailand was able to cut the lead down to single digits and prevented Gilas from pulling away through three quarters.

After Thailand threatened to tie the game early in the final period, Gilas Youth went on a game-breaking 10-2 blast to seal the win. Nolasco got the run started with an and-one basket then Bobadilla joined in with a booming 3-pointer. The run was closed out by a jumper from Yumul. Gilas rebuilt a double-digit advantage after that and never looked back.

Gilas Youth are currently tied with Samoa in Group A with one win each. They face Samoa at 8:30 PM Tuesday for the solo lead.

The top two teams from the two groups in the tournament will advance to the quarterfinals. The Philippines is aiming to finish at the top of the Division B tournament to earn a promotion to Division A.