Gilas Girls sweep FIBA U18 Asia Cup to earn promotion to Division A

July 1 ------ GILAS Pilipinas Girls earned a promotion to Division A after a lopsided 95-64 win over Lebanon in Shenzhen, China. The nationals dominated the second quarter with a 33-9 burst en route to claiming the Division B crown with a four-game sweep of the FIBA Under-18 Asia Cup 2024. 

The result means that the Philippines will now play in Asia’s finest in Division A come the 2026 edition. Alyssa Kae Rodriguez finished with 22 points, while Alicia Margarett Villanueva had 15 points in Gilas Girls’ dominating win that was also essayed by head coach Julie Amos. The Filipinas lit it up from downtown by making 15 threes, six coming from Rodriguez. Their defense was also top-notch when they made 21 steals resulting into 31 turnovers. 

In the next edition, Gilas Girls will be battling Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and China, which made news in this tournament after fielding 7-foot-3 Zhang Ziyu. The road began for the Philippines by sweeping the SEABA Championship earlier this year, clinching it a spot in the Asian meet. In the FIBA U18 Asian Cup, Gilas Girls then beat their opponents by an average margin of 51 points, including a 141-18 beating of Maldives to open the tournament. 

The scores: 

Philippines 95 – Rodriguez 22, Villanueva 15, Panganiban 13, Fajardo 10, Canindo 10, Duenas 8, Impreso 7, Lapasaran 5, Reyes 3, Ramos 2, Abong 0, Quinte 0. 

Lebanon 64 – El Ghali 31, Naasan 19, Hoteit 8, M. Barakat 2, Ajami 2, Al Nakib 1, Jaoude 1, N. Barakat 0, Bado 0, Faraj 0, Mosleh 0. 

Quarters: 20-17; 53-26; 80-46; 95-64. 

Source: spin.ph