All news tagged GilasPilipinasWomen

For the first time in history, the Gilas Pilipinas Women are poised to chase a spot in the FIBA Women’s World Cup.

The Filipinas clinched a berth in the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying tournament after narrowly defeating Lebanon, 73-70, during the group stage of the 2025 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup on Wednesday, July 16, at the Shenzhen Sports Center in Shenzhen, China.

This crucial win propelled the Philippines into the quarterfinals of the Women’s Asia Cup and guaranteed them an automatic place in the World Cup qualifiers, courtesy of a secured top-six finish in the tournament.

“This win represents everything that we’ve been working hard for in the last 10 years or so. We’re glad to be competing and not just staying in Division A, but we still have to improve and we hope we level up again soon,” said Gilas Women’s head coach Pat Aquino.

Five Gilas players scored in double figures in the hard-fought victory, led by Naomi Panganiban’s 15 points, highlighted by two clutch free throws with just 8.3 seconds left.

Sumayah Sugapong iced two crucial free throws at the 2:18 mark in the fourth quarter to give the Philippines a 71-66 lead, but Lebanon clawed back, trimming the deficit to just 71-69 with 1:15 to play. After Sugapong missed a potential game-sealing three, Lebanon’s Jillian Archer split her free throws, making it 71-70 with under a minute remaining.

Panganiban then calmly knocked down her pressure-packed free throws to stretch the lead to 73-70, and Lebanon failed to attempt a game-tying three as time expired.

Sugapong and Jack Animam each added 14 points for Gilas, with Animam also hauling down a game-high 16 rebounds. Vanessa de Jesus chipped in 13 points, while Kacey dela Rosa contributed 10, helping the team withstand blowing a 17-point first-quarter lead.

The Philippines overcame a stellar performance from Archer, who tallied a game-high 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 10 rebounds for Lebanon.

Gilas Women finished third in Group B with a 1-2 record. They will take a one-day break on Thursday, July 17, before facing the No. 2 seed from Group A in the quarterfinals on Friday, July 18, at 4:30 pm.

The Scores:

PHILIPPINES 73 – Panganiban 15, Sugapong 14, Animam 14, De Jesus 13, Dela Rosa 10, Pastrana 7, Castillo 0, Fajardo 0, Surada 0, Ozar 0, Pagdulagan 0.

LEBANON 70 – Archer 23, Akl 13, Elias 10, Mansour 7, Naassan 6, Ghaleb 6, Fayad 3, Labban 2, Raffoul 0.

Quarters: 29-12, 41-37, 55-57, 73-70.

With two major tournaments fast approaching, the Gilas Pilipinas Women’s team found itself in uncertainty as three veteran players are still committed to their duties with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP.)

With Janine Pontejos and Chack Cabinbin serving in the Philippine Army, while Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (WMPBL) MVP Afril Bernardino in the Philippine Navy, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) is now working to obtain the necessary AFP clearances for the trio to compete in the Jones Cup and FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in July.

The SBP insists it is closely monitoring the situation, but uncertainty lingers as the clearance process for the players remains stalled.

Still, Gilas Pilipinas Women’s head coach Pat Aquino says the team is ready to adapt to whatever happens, noting that for now, they are maintaining the status quo with Pontejos, Cabinbin, and Bernardino.