Gilas Pilipinas Women repulsed Lebanon, 73-70, to advance to the playoff round of the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup at the Shenzhen Sports Center in Shenzhen, China last Wednesday.

The Filipinas hung tough and extinguished the Lebanese rally in the final 1:54 to book the victory that gave them a spot for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournaments while staying in the Division A of the FIBA Asia.

It’s going to be the second time for the Filipinas to avoid getting relegated to Division B, sustaining the momentum they gained when they emerged successful in the previous event in Sydney in 2023.

Naomi Panganiban led Gilas Women with 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists while Jack Animam had a double-double game of 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Filipinas, who also drew solid performances from Sumayah Sugapong, Vanessa de Jesus and Kacey dela Rosa.

Sugapong posted 14 points and five rebounds, De Jesus struggled with foul trouble to finish with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists while Dela Rosa chipped in 10 points and five rebounds to underscore the Filipinas’ balanced offensive attack.

Jillian Archer’s double-double effort of 23 points and 10 rebounds went down the drain as the Lebanese finished the group stage winless in three games to move on the verge of being relegated to Division B in the next FIBA Asia cycle.

Gilas Women coach Patrick Aquino said the win over the Lebanese is a testament to their program’s success as they thrive in Division A.

“I think this win represents everything that we’ve been working hard for the last 10 years or so. We’re glad to be competing and not just staying here in Division A, but we still have to improve more and we hope that we level up again soon,” said Aquino, beaming with pride over their latest milestone

“I won’t take it away from Lebanon. They played well today. It’s just that, you know, luck must be falling on our side and we have to just keep on going, just keep on improving. That’s the goal right now for the team.”

With Archer scoring three straight points, the Lebanese were able to close in on Gilas, 70-71, in the final 35 seconds.

But Panganiban showed nerves of steel as she calmly sank two free throws for a 73-70 lead with 17 ticks left before Zena Ramiz Elias missed a two-point jumper in the dying seconds of the game to seal the Filipinas’ hard-earned victory.

Now fashioning a 1-2 win-loss record, Philippines will face the second-best team in Group A composed of China, South Korea, New Zealand and Indonesia in the playoff stage on Friday.