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Source: gmanews.tv

The RP women’s national basketball team debuted in style in the 7th SEABA Women's Championship, dealing Singapore a sound 101-34 beating Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The lady dribblers of coach Haydee Ong were unforgiving on defense. Using a stifling pressure defense, the Nationals forced the Singaporeans to commit 36 turnovers.

The Filipinas also completed 22 steals, three of them came from Fil-Am Melissa Jacob.

On offense, the RP cagebelles shot a respectable 28-of-52 attempts from the field for a steady 47-percent clip, including 10 triples.

“We showed them that we can play with a killer’s instinct. Despite having big leads early, we continued to pound it against our rivals and stay competing until the end . This is the kind of game we want to show against big guns like Malaysia and Thailand," said Ong.

Fatima Tolentino finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead four players in double figures for the host team, which opened a 10-0 lead and didn’t look back from there.

Sarah Tan was the lone Singaporean player in double figures with 16 points, including four treys. But the visiting team failed to solve the full court press employed by the Nationals for most part of the game.
Ang Wee Theng of Singapore tries to get past Melissa Jacob of the Philippines during their teams' 7th SEABA Women's Basketball Championship match at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
GMANews.TV


The team takes a breather Monday and will be back in action Tuesday against five-time champion Malaysia.

The Malaysians also had a good start by posting an impressive 84-60 win over Indonesia in the first game.

“It’s a big game because if we beat Malaysia, then we will advance one step into the the finals. We have to work hard defensively because Malaysia is a good perimeter team and has big players," added Ong.

Defending champion Thailand completes the five team cast of this tournament. All competing teams will play in a single round robin with the top two squads disputing the crown.

The team's next game will be against Malaysia and that would be after the game of Singapore and Indonesia. The games are being held at Rizal Memorial Stadium at Vito Cruz.