Gilas Pilipinas Boys erased a double-digit deficit to stun Fukuoka, 78-72, and capture third place in the 2026 B.League Under-16 Challenge Cup on Thursday at Sumida City Gymnasium in Tokyo.
It was a gritty comeback by the young Filipinos, who trailed by as many as 14 points early in the game and still found themselves down 68-58 with under seven minutes remaining.
Gilas tightened its defense at the perfect time, holding Fukuoka scoreless during a decisive 20-4 finishing run.
Brielle Salazar ignited the rally, scoring a layup with 2:51 left to knot the game at 70-all. Moments later, he came up with a steal that led to a coast-to-coast layup and a completed three-point play, giving Gilas its first lead of the second half at 73-70 with 2:36 remaining.
Takumichi Uchida answered with a pull-up jumper to trim the deficit to 73-72 with 2:12 left, but Sam Esomchi split his free throws with 1:52 remaining to keep Gilas ahead, 74-72.
After another defensive stop, Salazar converted a euro-step layup with 45.5 seconds left to stretch the lead to 76-72.
Uchida then missed on the other end before Dwayne Madrigal grabbed the offensive rebound off an Esomchi miss and converted the putback to seal the 78-72 victory and the bronze medal.
Salazar led Gilas with 18 points, four steals, three rebounds, and two blocks, while Esomchi posted a 17-point, 14-rebound double-double.
Hisham Mampao also chipped in 11 points, five rebounds, and two steals.
Uchida paced Fukuoka with 23 points, while Ryuki Shinozuka added 18.
Gilas advanced to the bronze medal game after finishing second in its pool with a 2-1 record. The Filipinos opened their campaign with a 91-81 victory over Chiba on Tuesday, then absorbed a 73-66 defeat to Ryukyu. It finally closed out pool play with a dominant 105-79 rout of Tachikawa on Wednesday.
