Save for a tight opening quarter, Gilas Pilipinas Boys could not keep pace as Australia pulled away for a 107-69 rout, handing the young Filipinos their first loss in the 2026 FIBA U18 Asia Cup on Saturday at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium in Ahmedabad, India.
The young Filipinos made a good account of themselves early, trading baskets with Australia. Timely conversions from Elias Gish, Aidan Dayco-Green, Chog Moral, JB Cagurungan, and Bruce Tubongbanua kept the game within striking distance at the end of the opening quarter.
The Philippines appeared poised for another gritty battle after Andrew Chio and Sizco Roquid trimmed Australia’s lead to just two, 26-24, early in the second quarter.
(C) FIBA
Australia, however, answered with a blistering 16-2 run, turning its 26-24 advantage into a commanding 42-26 lead and threatening to blow the game wide open before halftime. Yahya Basaran, John Aryang, and Antonio Browne led the charge during the pivotal surge.
Gilas Pilipinas Boys never recovered from there. Australia continued to pour it on, building its biggest lead at 42 points, 107-65, to improve to 2-0 in Group A and take a significant step toward securing an outright quarterfinal berth.
The Philippines, meanwhile, slipped to 1-1 but remains firmly in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs after dodging a major bullet with an 89-88 escape over Chinese Taipei, courtesy of Ethan Aguas’ game-winning basket.
(C) FIBA
Dayco-Green led Gilas with 12 points, while Luke Atacador added 10 points, three assists, and two rebounds.
Gish, Cagurungan, and Chio chipped in nine points apiece in the defeat.
The Philippines will close out its group-stage campaign against Thailand on Monday, hoping to secure its spot in the playoffs.
Seven players scored in double digits for Australia, led by Basaran with 17 points and eight rebounds. Aryang added 16 points, while Bailey Hanson had 14 points and eight assists. Browne contributed 13 points.
The Scores:
Australia 107 – Basaran 17, Aryang 16, Hanson 14, Browne 13, Fa’ale 12, Riddle 12, McCann 11, Hamilton 6, Cook 4, Evic 2, Akhuar 0
Philippines 69 – Dayco-Green 12, Atacador 12, Gish 9, Cagurungan 9, Chio 9, Aguas 6, Moral 4, Cariño 4, Tubongbanua 2, Roquid 2, Lacson 0, Pasinos 0
Quarterscores: 24-19, 56-34, 88-51, 107-69
