BENGALURU (India) - Months have passed, yet the Philippines' fall from grace in the FIBA U16 Women's Asian Championship 2022 remains fresh in the mind of Kristan Yumul.

"We are coming into this tournament with heart and passion to win, so we can hopefully, play in Division A for the next tournament." - Yumul

 She was part of the Gilas Women crew that emerged as a heavy favorite in the tournament hosted by Jordan last June. They swept their way to the Semi-Finals, only to suffer a shocking 88-73 loss at the hands of Samoa.

                                                              In the heartbreaking loss to Samoa, Yumul scored 13 points as well as 5 steals

Their tormentors went on to rule the Division B tilt following a narrow 79-76 victory over Syria. The Filipina dribblers, on the other hand, settled for a third-place finish.

So, it no longer came as a surprise that Yumul submitted her best game of the FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship 2022 thus far when they crossed paths with the Samoans anew, Tuesday at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium.

There, the 17-year-old fired 16 points on 5 three-pointers, helping the Philippines to a 66-59 win for some measure of payback.

It couldn't get any better for her and her U16 campaigners in Camille Nolasco and BJ Villarin as they got one particularly against Kira-May Filemu, who torched them in that semis clash with 36 points and 15 rebounds.

"There's a lot of motivation coming into this tournament in trying to improve from the last," said Yumul, who also collected 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal.

The shot at redemption after what happened in Amman is presenting itself to the 1.75 M (5'9") guard and to those who suffered that heartbreak. Thus, the immense gratitude on her part to be called up for another tour of duty.

"It's a great honor to have this opportunity to play for the U18 team," said Yumul, who led the Philippines with 21.6 points in the U16 meet. "I did not envision this at first when I got called up but I'm very blessed for this opportunity."

The Philippines are bound for the U18 Semi-Finals, sweeping their way onto the said round after handing Maldives a 110-28 beatdown on Wednesday.

It is definitely a situation all too familiar for Yumul, and so it's on her and the entire Gilas team to not let history repeat itself in an aim to accomplish their goal of bringing the country to Division A.

"We are coming into this tournament with heart and passion to win," said Yumul, who's currently averaging 10.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. "So we can, hopefully, play in Division A for the next tournament."

FIBA