Ava Fajardo led with 17 points as the Gilas Pilipinas youth girls’ team came off to a great start with a 79-40 smothering of Hong Kong in the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship 2023 on Monday night at the Prince Hamzah Sport Hall in Amman, Jordan.
The Gilas ladies took off on a 15-2 blitz and built their momentum on a 27-13 lead en route to claiming the early leadership of Group A in Division B action.
Ryan Nair and Alyssia Palma struck with 12 and 10 markers, respectively, for the Patrick Aquino-coached squad.
The Filipinas are seeking to improve on their third-place finish last year.
The Philippines will next face Maldives in a bid to move closer to the top seed in the group.
Tsz Ching Kam top-scored for Hong Kong with 14 points in the loss.
Yan Ting Tai was her lone support with 11 markers and 10 rebounds.
