Gilas Pilipinas Boys will compete in the 2026 B.League Under-16 Challenge Cup, the league announced.
The Philippines’ under-16 national basketball team is one of two international squads invited to the tournament, alongside Chinese Taipei’s Nengren.
The competition will be held from July 28 to 30 at Sumida City Gymnasium in Tokyo.
Gilas Pilipinas was drawn into Group A, where it will face Chiba on July 28 before taking on Ryukyu and Tachikawa on July 29.
Following the group stage, all eight participating teams will be ranked based on their standings before advancing to the classification matches on July 30. The top teams from each group will then battle for the championship.
Leading the 10-man Gilas roster are Far Eastern University-Diliman standouts Hisham Mampao and Dwyane Madrigal, Ateneo High School’s Marco Yoro, and University of the East’s Jayson Mercado.
Also earning spots on the team are La Salle Green Hills’ Sam Esomchi, Emman Simple, and Brielle Salazar; San Beda-Rizal’s Lawrence Copia and Zap Ong; and Perpetual Help’s Josh Saga.
The Philippines enters the tournament as the defending champion after the FEU-Diliman Baby Tamaraws swept last year’s edition at Yoyogi National Stadium Second Gymnasium.
