By Jonas Terrado
Afril Bernardino, Janine Pontejos, Jack Animam and Clare Castro will have double duties in the 30th Southeast Asian Games as they comprise the national women’s team roster in the 3×3 competitions slated Dec. 1 and 2 at The Arena in San Juan City.
Clare Castro, Afril Bernardino, Janine Pontejos and Jack Animam pose during a photoshoot prior to the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Asia Cup. (Photo from fiba.basketball)
Coach Pat Aquino elected to field the same team that reached the quarterfinals of the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup in Changsha, China with the aim of winning gold in the first women’s 3×3 event of the biennial meet.
The four players will also see action in the standard five-on-five event set Dec. 4 to 10 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Animam is expected to be ready in time for the 3×3 event after suffering an orbital fracture on her right eye in a match against South Korea in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand.
The just-graduated National University center is the country’s highest-ranked 3×3 player with 93,065 points which were accumulated in local and international competitions.
Pontejos and Bernardino also teamed up with Animam during the country’s hosting of the FIBA 3×3 World Cup in 2018, with Pontejos gaining prominence by winning the two-point shootout.
The women’s team will face Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia on Dec. 1 and Thailand on Dec. 2 in Pool A. The top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinals.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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