Manila, Philippines – The Philippine Women’s national basketball team fell short against World no. 9 Japan on Monday (July 14, 2025) evening during the FIBA Asia Cup 2025.
Japan had the game at the palm of their hands, having a significant lead while the Philippines struggled handling the firepower of the opposing team.
The Philippine team was trailing by as much as 22 points with a few minutes left in the final quarter.
Gilas managed to trim the lead into just four — but Gilas faced their one true enemy: time. The comeback fell short as the final push of the national team wasn’t enough.
Jack Aninam, who was one of the greatest weapons of the team, applauded her teammates after the game.
“Before the game I just told them, you know, the game is going to be hard, but no matter what, we have to fight and take pride in what we do… And I’m just so proud of them because, you know, we rose up to the challenge and even if we lost, it still feels like a win for us because of how we played together and how we bounced back from yesterday’s loss,” she told reporters.
She contributed a dashing 24 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks in their battle against Japan.
Gilas Women is now 0-2 in FIBA Women’s Asia Cup — a humiliating 115-39 loss against Australia, and their latest loss against Japan — 85-82.
The Gilas Women will set aside these two previous losses where they will go up against Lebanon on Wednesday (July 16, 2025) afternoon. —Kyle Basa, Contributor