IT WAS the perfect start for the Australian Sapphires to begin their campaign at the 2025 Under-16 Women’s Asia Cup, putting forth a masterful performance on both ends to defeat the Philippines by 81 points earlier today.

The Sapphires loaded up with a strong squad and headed to Malaysia as one of the tournament heavyweights, looking to emulate the success that their male counterparts found last month, bringing home the gold.

To kick start the group stage tournament, the Australians faced off against the Philippines and were relentless from start to finish, claiming an enormous win at Arena Seremban to send an ominous warning to the remainder of the competition.

Australian Sapphires (123) def. Philippines (42)

The Sapphires took control of the contest early, jumping out to a double-digit lead in the first five minutes of proceedings and never looking back from there. The Aussies were able to do as they pleased on the offensive end, not receiving much resistance from the opposition and putting a hefty score on the board.

Australia controlled the glass, with Jemyma Manyok and Matilda Trout combining for 28 rebounds as the pair controlled the skies and made an impact on the rebounding front on both ends of the floor, which played a major role in the Sapphires sustaining their dominance over the course of all four quarters in their tournament opener.

On the scoring front, it was a balanced showing from the victors, with five players scoring 12 or more points as the Aussies showed countless avenues to scoring and demonstrated just how high the team chemistry is on the world stage.

Leading the way was Marianela Fakalata in the points column, who was immense for the Dandenong Rangers in the Victorian Junior Basketball League throughout 2025, and showed the ability to bring that scoring ability to the Sapphires. In just 18 minutes of court time, she dropped a game-high 19 points, nailing all three of her attempts from long range and shooting a remarkable 8/9 from the field overall, emerging as an early candidate for tournament MVP.

Also impressing was Madison Ryan, who is fresh off winning a championship with the Sandringham Sabres in the VJBL this season. The young gun had shown her scoring prowess domestically, and took it international with 17 points in just 16 minutes on 7/12 shooting from the field against the Philippines on Monday.

Laura Seiz and VJBL leading scorer Sophie Richardson both dropped 15 points apiece to get in on the action, while Eden Katip rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points of her own as the Aussies shared the scoring responsibility magnificently.

Next up for the Australians is a matchup against the Republic of Korea tomorrow afternoon AEST in their second outing of the Group Stage, with the Sapphires looking to remain undefeated heading into the quarter finals, and if today’s performance is anything to go by, they will take some serious stopping.