Gilas Pilipinas mounted a furious rally late in the fourth but ultimately fell short, suffering an 82-85 loss to World No. 9 Japan to move closer to elimination in the 2025 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup on Monday at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center in China.
Down by 22, 61-83, in the final frame, Jack Animam ignited a blistering 18-0 run that stunned the Akatsuki and brought Gilas back to life. That cut the deficit to just four, 79-83, with only 15 seconds left on the clock.
However, the Philippines’ gallant stand came up just short. Monica Okoye put the game away with a perfect trip to the line with 12.1 ticks remaining, following an intentional foul by Sumayah Sugapong to stop the clock.
Vanessa De Jesus went on to drill a corner triple at the buzzer, but it was too little, too late, as Japan held on for its second consecutive win of the tournament.
“Well again, it’s a tough loss. But a good bounce back from yesterday’s game. I think the girls [have] more grit now. They’re playing together and hopefully, we get one more game as good as this and we’ll be okay,” said Gilas head coach Pat Aquino.
With the game seemingly out of reach entering the final five minutes, the Philippines found a much-needed spark.
Animam took matters into her own hands, asserting her dominance in the paint and breathing life back into Gilas’ comeback hopes.
The Filipinas also turned up the intensity on the defensive end, shutting down Japan’s offense by not allowing a single field goal in the final five minutes and 37 seconds.
Gilas, reeling from a lopsided 76-point defeat to World No. 2 Australia, dropped to 0-2 in Group B and now face a must-win game against Lebanon on Wednesday with a spot in the playoffs at stake.
Animam, after being held to just two points against the Opals, bounced back big time with a double-double of 24 points — 10 of which came in the final period. She also had 14 rebounds to go along with three assists, two blocks, and one steal for the Philippines.
De Jesus tallied 13 points and six assists in 31 minutes of action, while Naomi Panganiban also added 13 markers as well as three boards and two dimes. Sugapong had 11 points and four steals.
Japan, meanwhile, improved to a perfect 2-0 record to tie Australia at the top of Group B, setting up a showdown for the No. 1 seed tomorrow.
Maki Takada and Minami Yabu made it rain for the Akatsuki, converting five three-pointers each to finish with 20 and 15 points, respectively, in the victory.
