Day 3: Philippines book first Div B Semis trip; Iran, Malaysia fan own bids

AMMAN, FUHEIS (Jordan) - The Philippines booked the first flight to the Division B Semi-Finals following a dominant showing against hosts Jordan, 106-58, in the FIBA U16 Women's Asian Championship 2023 Wednesday evening at the Prince Hamzah Sport Hall.

Three consecutive three-pointers courtesy of Scarlett Mercado, Sophia Canindo, and Nevaeh Smith midway into the second quarter sparked the one-sided affair as Gilas Women U16 went on to collect their third win in three outings to lock the no. 1 seed of Group A.

It will be the Philippines' second straight trip to the Semis, this time hoping to redeem themselves after losing in the same stage of last year's U16 competitions also held in Amman to Samoa, who eventually won it all and earned the promotion to Division A of this year's meet.

Shannon Sayson led Gilas with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 7 steals for an efficiency rating 29.0. Ava Fajardo, a part of last year's team, poured 17 points, 4 boards, and 5 dimes.

Smith had 15 points, Ryan Nair made 11 points and 7 assists, while Mercado and Demicah Arnaldo added 10 apiece for the Philippines, who dished out 27 assists and collected 28 steals.

The Jordanians, meanwhile, were carried by the 26 points and 7 rebounds of Zena Alkarain in the defeat - their second in a row after Tuesday's heartbreaker to Hong Kong.

 

Iran move closer to Semis

Iran have moved closer to clinching a seat in the Semis following an 84-65 win over Singapore at the Prince Hamzah Sport Hall to remain atop Group B with a 2-0 record.

Helya Houdneh starred with 21 points and 22 rebounds for the first 20-20 performance of the whole tournament - including Division A - for the Iranians, who seized control of the game right from the get-go but only broke away for good late in the third quarter.

Ghazal Zamani Dehyaghoubi came through with her own double-double as she tallied 18 points and 17 rebounds. Zahra Zazerani also finished with 18 points. 

Fatemeh Jafari made 15 points while Zahra Zarei, although she wasn't able to replicate her triple-double outing against Malaysia, still dished out 15 of the team's 26 assists.

Leading Singapore, meanwhile, was Madelin Lock with her 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Jing Ling Lee supplied 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block while Chrystal Toe added 10 markers and 9 boards as they couldn't keep their winning ways after beating Guam yesterday.

 

Wire-to-wire win for Malaysia

Malaysia did not have to come back from any deficit this time as they posted a wire-to-wire 66-53 win over Guam at the Fuheis Basketball Court to break through.

The Southeast Asian crew zoomed to a 19-10 start into the match before pulling away for good in the fourth quarter, eventually barging into the win column of Group B (1-1) after falling short against Iran in the opening day of the week-long competitions last Monday.

Yi Xin Yap led Malaysia with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 steals. Xin Yu Oh tallied her own double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, plus half of the team's 6 blocks.

Ke Xin Lee submitted a full line of 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks as the trio were part of the unit that put together a 9-3 run to start the final period en route to a 58-44 lead with under 6 minutes remaining - a lead which the opposition could no longer chop down.

Madeleine Ada and Maria-Jean Paulino led Guam with 13 points apiece in the loss, which is now their second in as many outings after suffering a 60-71 defeat to Singapore Tuesday.

Daily Highs
Efficiency: 37.0, Helya Houdneh (IRI)
Points:26, Zena Alkarain (JOR)
Rebounds: 22, Helya Houdneh (IRI)
Assists: 15, Zahra Zarei (IRI)
Steals: 7, Shannon Sayson (PHI)
Blocks: 3, Xin Yu Oh (MAS); Alyssia Palma (PHI)

Results
Group A
Philippines def. Jordan, 106-58

Group B
Malaysia def. Guam, 66-53
Iran def. Singapore, 84-65

FIBA