Gilas Girls fall to China, eye fifth-place finish

The Gilas Girls’ semifinal bid ended Friday night with an 82-50 loss to China in the FIBA U16 Women’s Asia Cup Division A qualifying game for a semifinal berth at Arena Seremban in Malaysia, Sept. 26.

After a dramatic win over South Korea for their lone group-stage victory, the Philippines now turns its focus to a fifth-place clash with a familiar foe, Chinese Taipei. 

Taipei already handed the girls a 74-48 defeat in their first meeting.

China broke the game open late in the second quarter with a 10-0 burst and never looked back, securing its first semifinal appearance since 2017 and a spot in the 2026 FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup.

The winners dominated nearly every category, edging the Philippines in points off turnovers (15-14), matching them in fast-break points (12 apiece), and overwhelming them in second-chance points (24-7), paint scoring (48-26) and bench production (33-13).

Ella Smith led the Filipinas with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Makeena Ramos added 10.

Meanwhile, Li Yuanshan led China with 18 points, 12 of them in the second quarter alone.

The final four teams Australia, China, Japan, and New Zealand will compete in the semifinals, while the Philippines faces Chinese Taipei in the classification round, with all games scheduled for Sept. 27.