Gilas Pilipinas Boys escaped with a hard-fought 65-60 victory over Indonesia to keep their bid for the Group B top seed alive in the FIBA Under-16 Asia Cup 2025 on Monday evening at the Buyant Ukhaa Sports Complex in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Determined to bounce back from a stinging 106-82 loss to Chinese Taipei the night before, the Filipinos found their stride when it mattered most. They leaned on the clutch performances of Andwele Cabanero, Prince Carino, and Jolo Pascual to pull through in the final minutes.
The win set up a crucial showdown with New Zealand tomorrow at 4:30 PM in the same venue — a game carrying massive playoff implications.
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Carino calmly sank two free throws to give the Philippines a slim 60-57 cushion with 3:21 left, before Pascual delivered the knockout blow — a cold-blooded triple that widened the gap to 63-57 with just 38 seconds remaining.
But Indonesia refused to fold. Guard Galih Kharisma completed an and-one layup to cut the lead to three, forcing Gilas to weather another anxious possession.
Carino, the Far Eastern University-Diliman standout, then rose to the occasion, hauling down an offensive rebound off Ethan Tan-Chi’s missed free throws and converting the putback that sealed the much-needed triumph.
The win also reinforced the Philippines’ dominance over their Southeast Asian neighbors, extending their unbeaten run against Indonesia in the FIBA U-16 stage to six straight since 2011.
There will be no rest for the weary as the path to the top seed remains steep. For Gilas Boys to secure the No. 1 spot, they must not only beat the Junior Tall Blacks but also hope Indonesia stuns Chinese Taipei.
Otherwise, a three-way tie could emerge — with point differentials determining who advances with the best position.
However, there remains a chance that the Filipinos would bow out early in the tournament — a potential first in program history — if the Philippines loses to New Zealand and Indonesia beats Chinese Taipei. In which case, a potential three-way tie at 1-2 could emerge, with point differences coming into play.
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Tan-Chi led the Filipinos in scoring with 12 points alongside five rebounds, one block, and one assist, while Pascual registered 11 points, five assists, and one steal.
Cabañero added 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting with five rebounds and four steals, while Jhello Lumague tallied nine points and five rebounds.
Carino came through in the clutch, ending the night with six points, six rebounds, three blocks, and one steal, while Brian Orca was limited to four points on 1-of-6 shooting but contributed 13 rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
Miracle Christiano paced Indonesia with a double-double effort of 13 points and 10 rebounds with two steals, while Muhamad Firdaus also scored 13 points with two rebounds in the losing effort.
Steven Sebastian finished with seven points, 11 rebounds, three steals, and one block.
The Scores:
Philippines 65 – Tan-Chi 12, Pascual 11, Cabanero 10, Lumague 9, Carino 6, Pascual 5, Hallare 4, Orca 4, Rectificar 2, Cruz 1, Antolin 1, Delos Reyes 0.
Indonesia 60 – Firdaus 13, Christiano 13, Hernusi 8, Sebastian 7, Hadi 6, Kharisma 5, Naranataha 3, Yabe 3, Gilbert 2, Sasongko 0.
Quarterscores: 17-20, 36-30, 51-48, 65-60.
