The Gilas Pilipinas Women's Under-16 squad improved to 2-0 in Division B of the 2023 FIBA Under-16 Women's Asian Championship after a 144-22 beating of Maldives.

The Gilas U-16 scored the first 19 points of the game on Tuesday night at the Prince Hamzah Stadium in Amman, Jordan, and went on to lead 41-5 after the opening quarter.

They poured it on from there, leading by as much as 125 points after a split at the line by Christina Lapasaran made it 144-19 with 1:39 left to play.

Ten of the Philippines' 12 players scored in double-digits, with Sophia Candido making nine of 16 field goals for 21 points. Ariel Star De La O had a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Ava Fajardo put up 15 points, nine boards, and five assists.

The Gilas U-16 shot 47.54% from the field, and had a 55-41 rebounding edge against Maldives.

Mariyam Shirhan was the lone bright spot for Maldives, scoring 11 of their 22 points.

The Gilas U-16 is now 2-0 in Group A of Division B, and will wrap up the preliminary phase against Jordan tomorrow.

The Philippines is looking to improve upon their third-place finish from last year's edition, wherein they defeated Lebanon, 90-68, in the bronze medal match.

The overall champion of Division B will gain promotion to Division A.