GILAS Pilipinas Women are celebrating a landmark achievement in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2025.
For the first time in history, the Philippines will be competing in the pre-qualifying tournament for the 2026 FIBA Basketball Women’s World Cup, booking a seat with a 73-70 win over Lebanon last Wednesday.
READ Gilas Women nip Lebanon, keep place in Division A of Asia Cup
Head coach Pat Aquino said the decade-long hardwork of building a program is paying off.
“I want to say thank you for this wonderful game that we had,” said Aquino during the postgame press conference after the Philippines’ win over Lebanon. “I want to thank the federation (Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas), our MVP, president Al Panlilio, our executive director Erika Dy supporting us here.”
“I’m just proud of the girls. I’m just happy for the girls. I’m happy for the federation, happy for women’s basketball in the Philippines,” Aquino said.
“I think this win represents everything that we’ve been working hard for the last 10 years or so. We’re glad to be competing and not just staying here at Division A, but we still have to improve more and we hope that we level up again soon,” Aquino said.
It was a collective effort for Gilas Women with Naomi Panganiban topscoring with 15 points and Jack Animam being named the Player of the Game after contributing 14 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Animam was left in tears not just for the individual plum but also for one of the biggest wins in her decade-long national team career.
“I think this is a really good game for us. It’s a huge team effort,” said Vanessa de Jesus, who had 13 points, four rebounds, and two assists for Gilas Women. “I’m just proud of everybody, from the bench to the starters, everybody, the staff. I think at the end of the day, it really showed our puso.”
The campaign isn’t over yet for Gilas Women as they go up against Korea for a place in the semifinals of the competition on Friday night. The last time both teams battled in the Women’s Asia Cup was in 2023 during the fifth-place game with Korea beating Philippines, 80-71.
Gilas Women is out for a different result this time.
“No matter what, if we play together and continue to fight, no matter the score, we could be anybody and compete with anybody,” said De Jesus.
“I’m just really proud of this group. And I think all the hardwork is starting to pay off. And I think we’ll keep surprising people,” she added.
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