By MARK REY MONTEJO
Gilas Pilipinas showed great poise down the stretch and eked out a pulsating 73-70 win over Lebanon in the 2025 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup at the Shenzhen Sports Center in China Wednesday, July 16.
Tied at 57-all, Sumayah Sugapong, Vanessa De Jesus, Jack Animam, and, Kacey Dela Rosa, and Naomi Panganiban connived in one vicious attack that kept the Lebanese at bay and preserved the win that mattered most for the Nationals.
In that attack, Sugapong and Panganiban stood out as they calmly made their pressure-packed free throws that sealed the deal.
The victory put the No. 44 Nationals into a qualifying showdown for a semifinal spot.
Most importantly, Gilas secured its ticket for the World Cup qualifiers as it finished inside Top Six, while Lebanon, with its defeat, clashes with the bottom team from Group A in a classification match for 7th and 8th places.
Aside from its first triumph in the continental tiff, the Philippines, with its hard-fought win, stays in the Division A and for the next edition.
“I’m so proud of the girls, happy for the federation, happy for the women’s basketball in the Philippines, this win represents everything that we’ve been working hard for the last 10 years,” said head coach Pat Aquino.
“I think this is a really good game for us, it’s a huge team effort and I’m so proud of everybody… all the work is starting to pay off and I think we’ll keep surprising people,” De Jesus added.
The charming 5-foot-7 Panganiban led the Filipina assault with 15 points, four rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Sugapong, on the other hand, added 14 points on top of five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Kent Pastrana also contributed seven points.
Jack Aninam posted another impressive statline of 14 points, 16 rebounds which six were offensive ones, five assists, and three steals. De Jesus had 13 points with decent distributions from other departments, while Dela Rosa added 10 points.
