AMMAN (Jordan) - The Philippines denied a furious comeback rally by Syria to win in exciting fashion, 92-86, and stay undefeated in the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship 2022 Division B.

It took a shot for the ages to cap off a performance for the ages by Kristan Yumul to fend off a comeback attempt for the ages by a feisty team making their debut in the competition.

Entering the game, the Philippines were high on confidence after crushing Indonesia in their opening game for the biggest win so far in the competition. Syria had also claimed a win as well, and it was their first win ever in the U16 Women’s Asian Championship, but it took a huge effort in the second half to even break away for that win over Samoa.

Even though they were both 1-0 heading into this game, it was clear that the Philippines had the upper hand going on.

That’s why there was no surprise that the Philippines led by as much as 20 in the first half and seemed as if they were commanding the tempo heading into the halftime break.

But Syria wouldn’t back down easily. They battled their way back by getting to the free throw line and chipping away little by little into the deficit. By the middle of the third quarter, they had closed in to make it a 6-point margin before the Philippines expanded their lead back up to double-digits once again heading into the final quarter.

The game was in deadlock to start the fourth quarter - both teams scored a combined 5 points in the first three minutes. When the pace started to pick up, the excitement raised to another level.

After a layup by Dianne Nolasco, the score was 82-71 - the Philippines’ biggest lead of the fourth quarter - with less than five minutes to. Then, Simel Alahmar took over. In the span of two minutes from there, Alahmar score 9 of 11 unanswered points by Syria to even the score at 82.

With the 20-point lead now wiped completely off the board, the game became a trade of clutch baskets back and forth by the team’s stars.

Gabriella Ramos had another big game with 21 points and 14 rebounds and was the one to break the deadlock with a three-point play after hustling for the offensive board. On their end, Syria hustled for rebound after rebound to end up with two points from Aya Almohammad to make it a one point game.

The biggest basket in the game ended up being made by none other than Kristan Yumul, who was already having a game for the ages. With just over a minute left, Yumul had already scored 30 points and made 8-13 three-pointers. She added 3 more points and one more three-pointer to her name with a highlight-worthy stepback three-pointer that more or less knocked the wind out of Syria’s spirits.

With 33 points, Yumul tied the all-time record for most points scored in a U16 Women's Asian Championship game, first set by Chen Tsai-Shin back in 2009 when Chinese Taipei beat the Philippines.

Both teams added a couple of more points before the final buzzer, but it was clear that this was the Philippines game to win.

For the Philippines, aside from Ramos and Yumul, Samantha Media also put up an admirable performance with 7 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists.

For Syria, fourth quarter hero Alahmar finished with 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Suzan Backour was also spectacular with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists in the valiant effort.

FIBA