Gilas U16 advances to qualification for FIBA Asia Cup quarterfinals

Gilas Pilipinas U16 endured an up-and-down run in the group stage of the 2025 FIBA U16 Asia Cup, slipping past Indonesia after suffering heavy losses to Chinese Taipei and New Zealand to move into the qualification phase for the quarterfinals.

With Indonesia’s defeat against Chinese Taipei, the Philippines moves on to the qualification playoffs, where it will fight for a quarterfinal berth against Bahrain from Group A.

In their first Group B match, the Philippines absorbed a 106-82 beating from Chinese Taipei, as Gilas tried to play catch-up the whole game after a sloppy start at the Buyant Ukhaa Sport Complex in Mongolia, August 31.

Despite the lopsided score, Prince Cariño stood out for the Philippines with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, though his efforts weren’t enough to offset the team’s costly 36 turnovers.

On paper, Gilas actually outshot Chinese Taipei, 44.8 percent to 44.0, dominated the boards by 18 rebounds, and finished with more assists. But their carelessness with the ball proved fatal.

The Filipinos rebounded the next day, however, grinding out a 65-60 victory over Indonesia at the MBank Arena. Cariño once again delivered in crunch time, scoring a key layup off an offensive rebound in the final seconds to secure the bounce-back win, September 1.

Indonesia nearly forced a comeback after Galih Putra Kharisma’s and-one trimmed the lead to three with under a minute left. Ethan Tan-Chi turned the ball over and later missed two free throws, but Cariño’s putback sealed the deal for Gilas.

It then allowed the perfectly-placed Cariño to seal the deal via an offensive board that eventually led to a lay-up to complete the bounce back for the Philippines.

Their third game was a different story. Gilas ran into a hot-shooting New Zealand squad and fell, 85-54, back at the Buyant Ukhaa Sports Complex on September 2. The Junior Tall Blacks controlled the game throughout, improving to 3-0 in Group B, while the Philippines dropped to 1-2.

With the group phase wrapped up, the Philippines will face Bahrain on September 4 in a knockout qualifier for a spot in the quarterfinals.