The Gilas Pilipinas Girls’ flawless FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup Division B conquest is a redemption story two years in the making.

Head coach Julie Amos recalled the pain of coming up short of making it to the championship round of the FIBA U16 competition back in 2022 in Jordan.

“You know, we were in U16 in 2022. They were my players back then and we lost in the semifinals against Samoa,” Amos told Daily Tribune.

“So those frustrations and those learnings paved our way to be able to be at par with the other countries.”

It fueled the burning desire of the Gilas Girls to win it all and earn the coveted Division A promotion in Shenzen, China.

The Philippines hammered Lebanon 95-64, in the final over the weekend at the Futian Sports Park.

Fired up, the Pinay cagers came out with all guns blazing to crush all their opposition in the group stage and a familiar foe in Samoa to get into the final.

The Gilas Girls demolished hapless Maldives, 141-18, before routing Lebanon 89-63, to emerge unblemished in Group A.

Then Amos got her shot for revenge against Samoa, which two years prior dashed the Filipinas’ title hopes in the U16 semis.

This time the Gilas Girls hammered the Samoans to submission, 71-47, to advance into the final.

The troika of Naomi Panganiban, Gabrielle Ramos and Ava Fajardo, who played in the U16 squad in 2022, led the relentless attacks of the Gilas Girls in the cold-blooded revenge over Samoa.

It was a one-sided affair in the championship round as the Filipinas joined China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand in the 2026 edition of the competition.

Panganiban emerged as Gilas Girls’ top performer, averaging 15.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and four assists in four games.

Assistant coach Pat Aquino said the Panganiban will be important for the program in the future.

“We believe that she could be the future of basketball in the Philippines. We gave her everything she needed and we hope she continues to work hard and represent our country well,” Aquino said.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) executive director Erika Dy praised the girls’ achievement and stated they will be the foundation of the program in the future.

“The performance of our U18 team means that we have a rich pool of talent in women’s basketball and, perhaps more importantly, we have the system to find this talent, put a team together, and maximize their potential,” Dy said.