Now heavy favorites, Gilas girls put premium on teamwork ahead semis bid
MANILA, Philippines – The Gilas Pilipinas youth girls team will be heading into their semifinals clash with Samoa in the FIBA U16 Women's Asian Championship in Amman, Jordan as one of the strongest teams of the field.
Sweeping their assignments in Group A with a 3-0 record, the Gilas girls have proven themselves to be the team to beat in Division B as they also have their eyes set on getting promoted to Division A.
Still, their reputation for coming out with great games can prove to be a challenge as teams will be pulling out all the stops against the Filipinas.
But for Gabby Ramos, whose name has been floated as a standout in the team, said that it won’t be a problem for them as they just need to play their usual game.
"As a team, the pressure it kinda goes away when we're on the court, when we play together. I don't even think we notice the stands. It's just us and the other team. Us, the coaches, and the other team. We focus on that," said Ramos in a media availability last Monday.
"And you know, the way the coaches prepare us for this, our preparation and everything, it really helps, it really prepares us for these games and the way that we're gonna play. The cat's out of the bag, we're 3-0, they know what we're capable of, there's film on us. We know, we're gonna be watching film on whoever we're gonna be playing, so we know that they're gonna do the same for us," she added.
Ramos will be a player to look out for by the opponents as she has come out with big game after big man. Also on the list would be her cousin and teammate Kristan Yumul, who has been lighting it up from beyond the arc.
But Ramos and Yumul aren't sweating it as they also believe in the capabilities of their teammates. They said being able to attack from all cylinders will be the key to moving on.
"Like, us, there are targets on our backs, there are targets on our teammate's backs, everyone. So, it's about working together, it's about playing together, it's about doing what we know we can do and putting everything else aside. Just focusing on the win, focusing on the game, changing our mindset," said Ramos.
"When we play our game as a team, then everything else just doesn't matter. We end up playing as a team and we do what we know what we can do," quipped Yumul.
The Gilas girls return to action in the semifinal game on Wednesday against Samoa. They played their last group stage game also against the Samoans, routing them 94-65.
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