Gilas Pilipinas Boys ended their FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 campaign in eighth place after Chinese Taipei completed a come-from-behind 89-78 victory on Sunday at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium in Ahmedabad, India.
The Philippines finished the tournament with a 3-4 record after dropping its last three games, including a quarterfinal loss to China that ended its hopes of reaching the FIBA U19 World Cup 2027.
Chog Moral led Gilas in its final game with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Ethan Aguas added 15 points and seven boards. Bruce Tubongbanua chipped in 10 points.
(C) FIBA
The Philippines appeared headed for a strong finish after building a 38-26 advantage in the second quarter, but Chinese Taipei answered with a devastating 16-0 run to seize control.
Xing Yusheng sparked the rally with seven points, including the three-pointer that ignited the surge, as Chinese Taipei turned the tide and entered halftime with a 42-34 lead.
Chinese Taipei stretched its advantage to 14, 83-69, with under six minutes remaining and held off a late Filipino fightback.
Moral helped Gilas Youth cut the deficit to nine twice in the closing minutes, but Carter Coleman and Liu Tingkuan made key plays to keep the Philippines at bay.
(C) FIBA
Coleman led Chinese Taipei with 23 points, 15 rebounds, four steals, and two blocks. Xing finished with 17 points, four rebounds, and four assists, while Liu posted 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals, and three blocks.
The result also served as a measure of revenge for Chinese Taipei, which had lost to the Philippines, 89-88, in their Group Phase meeting after Aguas hit the game-winning shot.
Chinese Taipei finished seventh with a 3-4 record, improving on its 12th-place finish in the 2024 edition in Jordan.
The Scores:
Chinese-Taipei 89 – Coleman 23, Xing 17, Liu 13, Weng 11, Huang 9, Chen 9, Chuang 5, Jhou 2, Yang 0.
Philippines 78 – Moral 22, Aguas 15, Tubongbanua 10, Dayco-Green 8, Cagurungan 5, Atacador 5, Pasinos 4, Carino 4, Chio 2, Roquid 2, Lacson 1, Gish 0.
Quarterscores: 20-22, 49-41, 72-60, 89-78.
