Gilas Pilipinas Youth saw its FIBA U19 World Cup hopes come to an end after absorbing a 103-117 loss to China in the quarterfinal of the FIBA U18 Asia Cup at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium in Ahmedabad, India on Friday.

The defeat relegated the Philippines to the classification round and ended its bid for one of the four Asian berths in the 2027 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Pardubice, Czech Republic.

Gilas Youth struggled to establish its rhythm against the taller Chinese, who seized control early and never allowed the Filipinos to mount a serious comeback.

Trailing 1-5 with 7:50 remaining in the opening quarter, China caught fire behind Xuan Hao, whose triple ignited a 19-4 blast that gave his team a 20-9 advantage.

From then onwards, it was an all-China show.

Hao later threw down a dunk with 6:49 remaining in the third quarter to give China its biggest lead of the match at 73-49.

China made the Philippines pay dearly for its mistakes, converting Gilas Youth’s 16 turnovers into 26 points while also drilling 17 triples to keep the Filipino defenders on their heels.

Wang Zichao led the Chinese with 25 points, three rebounds and four assists while Chen Yuxiu added 23 points, three rebounds and six assists as China advanced to the semifinal and clinched a ticket to the U19 World Cup.

Chog Moral tried to keep the Philippines afloat with a game-high 26 points, but his scoring outburst went for naught as Gilas Youth failed to return to the semifinal for the first time since 2018.

The Philippines will now shift its focus to the classification round and face the loser between South Korea and Chinese Taipei on Saturday.