Gilas’ Asian Games title defense ends in 44-point rout by ChinaNoah Barro

Gilas Pilipinas’ bid to defend its regional crown came crashing down after a nightmare loss to China. 

The Philippines bowed out of contention after failing to qualify for the quarterfinals following a 105–61 drubbing at the hands of China in the 20th Asian Games at Aichi International Arena, Sept. 14.

A 37-point loss or fewer would have been enough for Gilas to remain in contention, as the Philippines sought to secure the highest-ranked third-place finish among Groups A, B and C and advance to the quarterfinals.

China, still looking to avenge its loss to the Justin Brownlee-led counterpart in the 2023 edition, asserted its dominance and eliminated Gilas via a 44-point demolition.

By failing to reach the quarterfinals, Gilas Pilipinas suffered its worst finish in Asian Games history, falling below its seventh-place showing in 2014.

The Philippines ended their campaign with a 1–2 record, after opening their campaign with an 89–85 loss against Bahrain before securing its lone victory versus Kazakhstan.

Calvin Oftana, the only holdover from the historic 2023 Gilas Pilipinas gold-medal crew, topscored the country with 13 markers but was proven futile against the tall spitfire men of China.

Team Dragon capitalized on Gilas’ guard-oriented line up after dominating the boards, 55–36, while also shooting a 12-of-32 (38%) clip from three-point territory.

Bahrain and China reached the QFs from Group C, with the former claiming the second spot and the latter topping the group with a perfect showing.

With reports from Rappler, ABS-CBN