Gilas Women's late rally falls short against world no.9 Japan

July 15 ------ GILAS Pilipinas Women went on a huge finishing run before losing to Japan, 85-82, in a respectable showing in their second game of the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2025 in Shenzhen, China.

The Philippines took the world No. 9 and runners-up of the last edition of the Asia Cup to the limit, going on an 18-0 run to cut the deficit down to four points, 83-79. Time, however, was not on the side of the Philippines with Monica Okoye nailing two free throws with 12.1 seconds left to end that Gilas binge.

Vanessa De Jesus buried a buzzer-beating three for the Philippines to close the game with a 21-2 blast after being down 83-61. The Philippines dropped to 0-2 but gained a lot of confidence ahead of their final game of Group A against Lebanon before the playoff round.

The result was definitely much better than Gilas Women’s first game when they lost to world No. 2 Australia by 76 points. Japan is one of the most accomplished women’s basketball teams in Asia, having once won a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Jack Animam led the charge for Gilas Women with 24 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks, an improvement from the Australia game where she only had two points.

Source: spin.ph