Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Marlina Herawan munched six of her team’s eight free throws inside the final two minutes as Indonesia trounced the Philippine women’s basketball team, 61-56, in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games at the OCBC Arena in Singapore on Tuesday (June 12).
Herawan finished with 14 points in the process, but it was Natasha Christaline who topscored for the Indonesians with 19 points.
Indonesia remained atop the heap with a 3-1 win-loss record, while Perlas Pilipinas is at second place with a 2-2 card.
Related: Perlas Pilipinas scores second win, beats Malaysia
The Philippines was paced by Raiza Palmera’s 12 points. Afril Bernardino added a double-double effort of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
At the onset, Indonesia rolled on with a 21-9 spurt but sputtered in the next two quarters.
Perlas Pilipinas outscored the Indonesians in the second period, 18-8, to wrap up the first half at 27-29.
Oozing with energy and confidence, the Filipino cagers continued to step on the gas off halftime, propelling a 19-9 surge to take a 46-37 lead entering the final frame.
But the Indonesians regained steam in the fourth period and engaged the Philippines in a nip-and-tuck battle.
Herawan nailed both shots from the stripe to give Indonesia a 55-52 buffer with 1:44 to go. But Palmera and Bernardino scored back-to-back baskets after that as the Filipinos led the Indonesians by a whisker, 56-55.
But the Filipinos would turn the ball over twice and miss two shots from the three-point area and the Indonesians would pull away for good with four more six more free throws.
