Gilas Pilipinas is determined to sweep the group stage and land a favorable quarterfinal seeding in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games women’s 5-on-5 basketball competition.

Standing in the way of the Filipinas is host Japan in an explosive clash of unbeaten squads today at the Aichi International Arena.

The Philippines is clinging to the momentum it built for the 12 p.m. (Manila time) encounter that will determine the two quarters-bound teams’ seeding in the next round.

Gilas has been nothing short of impressive in its first two outings, blowing past Kazakhstan and Hong Kong to secure a return trip to the Last 8.

With a chance to get a better pairing this time after a quarterfinal exit three years ago in the pandemic-delayed Hangzhou edition, Gilas aims to snatch another victory for a possible better path to the semifinal.

Gilas flattened Kazakhstan, 86-58, last Thursday before defeating Hong Kong, 90-73, on Sunday to tie the Japanese on top of the Group B standings.

Head coach BT Toews will lean on Afril Bernardino, Stefani Berberabe, Jhazmin Joson and naturalized player Beth Means to anchor Gilas’ stand.

But beating the Japanese is easier said than done.

Japan punished Hong Kong, 114-37, before manhandling Kazakhstan 88-23 in a game that saw the host hold down the Kazakhs to only three points in the fourth quarter.

Gilas has its eyes on Japan forward Mona Tateyama, who is averaging 17.5 points per game.

The top two teams in each group will advance outright to the next round while the top two third-ranked teams will occupy the last two quarters seats.

In the previous edition, Gilas was eliminated by South Korea in the quarterfinal.