Gilas women fall short in 3×3 World Cup pool after historic rise

Fresh off a climb to No. 14 in the FIBA 3×3 world rankings, Gilas Pilipinas Women, Kristine Cayabyab, Cheska Apag, Elaine Etang, and Kacey Dela Rosa, fell short of a quarterfinal berth in the 2025 FIBA 3×3 U23 World Cup after a rugged Pool B run in China, September 20.

The Philippines finished 1-3, highlighted by a 19-12 breakthrough over Mexico but undone by narrow, costly losses to higher-ranked squads.

Gilas opened with a 19-17 heartbreaker to Chile after a late foul sent Catalina Ramirez to the line for the winning points.

The United States then overpowered the Filipinas 21-14 before they broke through against Mexico.

Spain sealed the Philippines’ fate in the nightcap, cruising to an 18-11 victory.

Only the top two teams in each pool advanced to the quarterfinals. Moving on were Japan, Poland, the Netherlands, the United States, Spain, Czechia, France and host China.

The setback came just months after Gilas surged eight spots to No. 14, the highest ever for a Philippine 3×3 women’s team. Thanks to a dominant run in the FIBA 3×3 Youth Nations League Asia-Pacific 1 in Doha, where they won four of six stops and outscored second-place New Zealand by 50 points.

Despite the early exit, the young Gilas crew leaves China with valuable big-stage experience and momentum as it continues to elevate Philippine women’s basketball on the global 3×3 stage.