Gilas Pilipinas U18 survived a late comeback from Chinese Taipei, escaping with an 89-88 victory in its opening game of the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 on Thursday.

Gilas looked in control early, building a huge lead behind its fast-paced offense and solid ball movement. With around six minutes remaining in the third quarter, Ethan Matthew Aguas scorched Chinese Taipei with a three-point play to stretch the Gilas lead to 27.

But Chinese Taipei refused to go down quietly.

The young Filipinos saw their advantage slip away in the second half as Chinese Taipei mounted a furious comeback, eventually taking an 88-87 lead with only seconds left in the fourth quarter.

With the game slipping away, Aguas found an opening underneath the basket and knocked down a crucial two-pointer with just seconds remaining, putting Gilas back ahead, 89-88.

Chinese Taipei still had a chance to steal the game, but Gilas held its ground in the final possession to secure the narrow victory.

Jan Bennett Cagurungan led the team with 21 points, backed by Aguas with 16 and Lino Tubongbanua with 10.

The victory gives Gilas U18 a winning start to its campaign in Ahmedabad before moving on to tougher assignments as they take on the defending champion Australia, on 15 August at 1 p.m. Philippine time.

The Australians early today, destroys Thailand with 102-32 big win.