Gilas women nip Lebanon to earn World Cup qualifiers berth

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas punched a ticket to the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifiers after holding on against Lebanon, 73-70, in their 2025 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup matchup Wednesday afternoon in China.

Gilas thus secured a top-six finish in the regional tournament after finishing with a 1-2 record in Group B, good for third, while sending the fourth-seeded, 0-3 Lebanon to the classification round.

The Philippines also avoided relegation to Division B. FIBA earlier said that the eighth-placed team will be placed in Division B, while the other seven teams will stay in Division A for the 2027 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup.

Five Gilas players finished in double figures, led by the diminutive Naomi Panganiban who finished with 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Jack Animam and Sumayah Sugapong backstopped with 14 markers apiece, with the former hauling down 16 rebounds, dishing out five assists and stealing the ball three times, while the latter had five boards, three dimes and two pilfers.

After leading by as much as 17 points in the first quarter, the Philippines found itself trailing by two, 57-55, at the end of the third quarter.

Six straight points by the Nationals to start the fourth quarter pushed them ahead by four, 61-57.

But Lebanon retook the lead, 62-61, with 6:39 remaining after a deuce by Zena Elias.

However, four straight points by Animam, followed by a short stab off the Animam steal, gave the Philippines a five point advantage, 67-62, with 3:58 left.

Lebanon then played catchup the rest of the way, with dela Rosa and Sugapong keeping their opponents at bay.

But Jillian Archer and Rebecca Akl kept the Lebanese squad in it, slicing the deficit to one, 70-71, with 29.0 seconds remaining.

On the other end, Gilas temporarily lost the ball to Lebanon, but they got it back with the shot clock turned off. Panganiban was then fouled with 8.3 seconds left.

With the guard cool, calm and collected, she sank both for the dagger, 73-70.

Lebanon had a chance to tie the ballgame, but Zena Elias’ jumper missed as Gilas secured the rebound.

“Just so proud of the girls, just happy for the girls, happy for the federation, happy for the women's basketball in the Philippines. I think this win represents everything that we've been working hard for the last 10 years or so,” Gilas head coach Pat Aquino told reporters.

“And we're glad to be competing and not just staying here at Division A, but we still have to improve more and we hope that we level up again soon,” he added.

The World No. 44 Gilas started the game waxing hot, going up 29-12 at the end of the first over the World no. 54 Lebanon team.

But their opponents slowly clawed out of the hole and trailed by just four, 37-41, at the half.

Lebanon finally took the lead, 45-44, in the third quarter, as the game turned into a see-saw battle.

“I think at the end of the day it really showed our puso and that no matter what, if we play together and continue to fight, no matter the score, we could be anybody and compete with anybody,” Vanessa de Jesus said after the game.

“So I'm just really proud of this group and I think all the hard work is starting to pay off and I think we'll keep surprising people,” she added.

de Jesus added 13 points for Gilas, while dela Rosa had 10 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes before fouling out.

Archer posted a double-double of 23 markers and 10 boards for Lebanon, while Akl tallied 13 and seven.

Now, the Philippines will head to the qualification semifinals, while Lebanon will compete in the classification game for the seventh and eighth seeds.

Gilas’ next game is on Friday, 4:30 p.m.

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