Gilas Pilipinas Youth survived a furious Chinese Taipei comeback, 89-88, to open its FIBA U18 Asia Cup campaign on a winning note at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium in Ahmedabad, India on Thursday.

Jan Bennett Cagurungan delivered 21 points and five rebounds while Ethan Aguas finished with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds for Gilas Youth, which joined defending champion Australia on top of Group A.

The Filipinos were headed for a comfortable victory after building a 27-point lead, capped by Aguas’ free throw with 6:03 left in the second quarter, 65-38.

But the Taiwanese refused to go quietly, mounting a furious comeback in the fourth quarter with a 22-6 run. Carter Coleman’s layup gave the Taiwanese an 88-87 lead with just seven seconds remaining, putting Gilas Youth on the brink of a heartbreaking collapse.

Aguas, however, answered with a jumper with two seconds left to put the Filipinos ahead. Ting-Kuan Liu had a chance to steal the victory, but his jumper was off the mark under the defensive pressure from Pat Pasinos as time expired.

Prince Cariño and Lino Tubongbanua Jr. added 10 points apiece for Gilas Youth, while Elias Troy Gish and Chog Moral combined for 14 points.

Liu paced Chinese Taipei with 23 points and six rebounds in the losing effort.

Gilas Youth will face powerhouse Australia on Saturday at 1 p.m. (Manila time) at the same venue, with the winner taking the outright lead in Group A.

The Philippines is aiming to finish among the top four teams and secure a berth in the 2027 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Pardubice, Czech Republic, scheduled from 26 June to 4 July.