By ANGELO CAPARAS
The Gilas Pilipinas women team closed out its 2025 William Jones Cup campaign with a disappointing 76–57 loss to Chinese Taipei Universiade training team at the Taipei Heping Gymnasium on Sunday, July 6.
The Filipinas finished with a 1–4 slate and settled for 5th place after their third straight loss and following earlier defeats to South Korea and Japan.
Vanessa De Jesus and Naomi Panganiban had 15 and 10 points, respectively, although were not enough as the Filipinas slumped to another third quarter drought, allowing the host team to pull away for good.
Gilas actually had a slim 32-30 lead at the break but got outscored by the Chinese Taipei. 20-11 in the third. The struggle continued in the fourth as the Taiwanese broke the game wide open.
Jack Animam patrolled the paint efficiently to grab 11 rebounds but was held to just seven points – her lowest in the tournament. .
Taipei’s Wang Yueyu led the host squad with 14 points, helping them finish with a 3–2 record alongside the Chinese Taipei national team.
Gilas lone victory meanwhile was produced against Thailand, 83-66.
After their Jones Cup stint, the national squad set its sights on the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup in August as it looks to break into the top six and punch their ticket to the 2026 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.
