Gilas Pilipinas Boys clinched the second seed in Group A after venting its ire on Thailand, 91-62, in the 2026 FIBA U18 Asia Cup on Monday at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium in Ahmedabad, India.
The Philippines overcame an early 12-point deficit before taking complete control in the final three quarters to finish the group phase with a resounding 29-point victory.
Thailand came out firing and led, 20-8, with 4:36 left in the opening period before taking a 25-17 advantage into the second quarter.
Gilas, however, steadily chipped away at the deficit and eventually tied the game at 31-all with 4:41 remaining in the first half.
(C) FIBA
The Filipinos continued to build momentum after the break, with the decisive swing coming in the third quarter.
After Charan Sirisuntorn’s three-pointer tied the game at 50-all with 5:17 left in the period, Ethan Aguas immediately answered with a triple to put Gilas ahead, 53-50.
That basket sparked a blistering Philippine run, as Gilas outscored Thailand, 36-3, from that point until the 5:54 mark of the fourth quarter. The Filipinos shot 11-of-16 from the field during the stretch, while Thailand went just 1-of-12 and committed eight turnovers.
Gilas then turned the game into a rout, building its biggest lead at 35 points twice in the fourth quarter, first at 87-52 and later at 91-56.
Luke Atacador paced the Philippines, who suffered a 107-69 defeat against Australia last Saturday, with 16 points and four rebounds. He shot 5-of-8 from the field and went a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Elias Gish added 15 points and eight rebounds in just 18 minutes of action, while Aidan Dayco-Green also had 15 markers to go with seven boards and three assists.
Gish was particularly instrumental in the decisive third-quarter surge, scoring eight points in a span of just 1:35 as the Philippines pulled away.
(C) FIBA
Chog Moral also delivered his best performance of the tournament, contributing 12 points and two steals in nearly 18 minutes while finishing with a team-best plus-27 rating.
Aguas chipped in eight points, nine rebounds, two assists, and four steals to provide an all-around effort for Gilas.
For Thailand, Alexander Junior David led the way with 13 points, three rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block, while Phurich Benjaariyakul finished with 14 markers.
Gilas will take on either Bahrain or Syria in the playoffs on Thursday.
The Scores:
Philippines 91 – Atacador 16, DaycoGreen 15, Gish 15, Moral 12, Tubongbanua 9, Aguas 8, Chio 6, Cagurungan 5, Pasinos 3, Cariño 2, Lacson 0, Roquid 0.
Thailand 62 – Benjaariyakul 14, David 13, Pisarnyuttanapong 13, Hatpech 8, Ravazzini 6, Sirisuntorn 3, Wilairoj 3, Boonsrang 2, Allsopp 0, Jaiaree 0.
Quarterscores: 17-25, 40-44, 71-50, 91-62.
