Gilas Pilipinas girls within the Fiba Ladies’s World Cup 2026 pre-qualifying match. –FIBA PHOTO
The Philippines crashed out of the Fiba Ladies’s World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Match in Rwanda, ending its marketing campaign with no single win.
However nationwide coach Pat Aquino feels that the squad is coming again dwelling with one thing that couldn’t be quantified on the stat sheets.
“It was our first time to play in opposition to a South American group, an African group, and a [European team]—so it’s already an honor to signify our a part of the world and be right here,” he mentioned shortly after an 87-62 beating by the hands of Senegal on Thursday evening.
“I do know we fell brief, however this expertise, the learnings that we had right here, make us proud,” the longtime girls’s group mentor added.
The Gilas Ladies, overwhelming underdogs for being undersized and undermanned, seemed poised to posting an upset in its world stage debut after making Brazil sweat of their encounter final Monday that obtained Group C play going.
Simply fell brief
The Philippines bowed, 77-74, to a rustic ranked eighth on the planet.
“The important thing was to play collectively and to indicate how this a part of the world may play along with his a part of the world,” Aquino mentioned, responding to a international reporter who, throughout the postgame presser, expressed his appreciation for the gutsy Philippine squad that additionally examined Hungary and Senegal earlier than operating out of steam.
Naomi Panganiban, the 18-year-old standout who was integral within the youth group’s current campaigns, was teary-eyed over the winless marketing campaign. However she additionally discovered a motive to be thankful for the week that was.
“I positively discovered from my teammates, older sisters, to battle ‘til the tip,” she mentioned. “We all the time talked about combating, giving it our greatest and I believe we did a reasonably good job at doing that the entire match.
“So far as one thing I may get higher at—studying the protection and being affected person. I believe I may do a greater job at [those]. I believe I will help out extra with that,” she added.
The Philippines performed with solely 6-foot-5 ace Jack Danielle Animam as its solely towering presence within the center. Kacey dela Rosa was the subsequent largest participant for the Nationals, however standing at 6 toes wasn’t going to chop it in a discipline suffering from massive, bodily gamers.
That needs to be an angle the Gilas Ladies’s management needs to be exploring because it navigates its future.
The Inquirer has just lately discovered that College of the Philippines standout Favour Onoh, a major candidate for naturalization, has suffered a ligament tear in her knee. With out an in a position massive alongside Animam, Gilas is probably going going to come across struggles on the world stage.
For now, the Gilas girls should take advantage of out of the ethical victory from this marketing campaign.
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“The issues we’ve discovered from right here—you’re by no means gonna decide them up wherever,” mentioned Aquino. “We hope that we proceed to be right here, and with the help of the [Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas] … we hope that we may do extra from right here sooner or later.”
