Gilas Women bow out winless in FIBA World Cup pre-qualifiers, turn focus to Asia Cup

MANILA, Philippines – A promising FIBA Women’s World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournament for Gilas Pilipinas turned ugly on a dime as Senegal closed out the group phase undefeated off an 87-62 rout in Rwanda on Thursday, August 22.

Eliminated from contention a day prior due to Senegal’s win over Brazil, the Philippines failed to make a giant-slaying exit, despite star center Jack Animam bouncing back with a decent 15-point, 6-rebound, 2-steal line.

Rising star Naomi Panganiban, coming into the game shooting just 22% on an 8-of-36 clip, scored 14 on 4-of-14 shooting, while veteran sniper Janine Pontejos added 12 points on a 3-of-7 split from downtown.

Despite a 0-3 pre-qualifier run, which included a near-stunner of world No. 8 Brazil followed by a 37-point beatdown loss against Hungary, Gilas’ world-stage ambitions remain alive through automatic qualification to the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup, where the top six teams will circle back to the actual World Cup qualifiers.

Consistency, however, will be a key issue in future practices and tournaments as Senegal practically copied Hungary’s script against the Philippines, blasting away with a 23-12 second quarter to command a 45-32 lead at intermission that set the tone for the rest of the game.

All in all, the Senegalese mounted a 43-19 comeback rally to end the first half after getting blindsided with a 13-2 Gilas attack straight from tip-off. The world No. 25 squad then led by as many as 28, 79-51, with 4:51 left to play in the one-sided contest.

Ndioma Kane ran circles around the Filipinas’ lacking interior defense with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting in just 19 minutes, while Khadidiatou Sarr excelled in a 14-minute window with 12 points and 8 rebounds, 5 coming from the offensive end.

Senegal, like Hungary, exposed anew Gilas’ longstanding size woes, as it bullied its way to a staggering 39-rebound differential, 70-31, with 27 offensive boards to boot. – Rappler.com