What can Gilas Women take away from their 6th-place finish at Asia Cup

The Philippines women's national basketball team (Gilas Pilipinas Women) achieved their primary mission at the 2025 FIBA Women's Asia Cup by retaining their Division A status and proving they can compete against the region's best teams. They matched their best-ever finish of 6th place, demonstrating steady program growth through improved cohesion and confidence in hard-fought battles against higher-seeded nations. This performance marks a turning point and propels them into their first FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup qualifiers, providing momentum ahead of hosting the 2027 Women's Asia Cup.

Despite finishing with a 1-4 record, mirroring a prior subpar tournament result, the team showed significant positives. This included a gallant stand against powerhouse Japan and narrowly missing fifth place in a late loss to New Zealand. While acknowledging room for improvement, particularly in converting close games against tougher opponents into wins, the tournament highlighted bright spots for the team's future development.

A key strength identified was the guard play. Even without veteran leader Afril Bernardino, the rotation excelled. Naturalized player Vanessa de Jesus stepped up as the primary ball handler and floor general, showing poise in pressure situations, meshing well with Jack Animam, scoring at all three levels, and dictating tempo against elite defenses. She averaged 13.2 points (9th in the tournament), 2.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.0 steals.

De Jesus was effectively complemented by two young talents, 19-year-olds Naomi Panganiban and Sumayah Sugapong, who played beyond their years. Regular starter Panganiban provided a crucial scoring punch with aggressive drives and rim attacks, also averaging 13.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals. Her aggressiveness was evident in drawing 4.7 free throw attempts per game in the last three contests, where she shot 85.7% from the line.