Gilas Pilipinas Women suffered a rough start to their 2025 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup campaign, absorbing a massive 76-point drubbing at the hands of world No. 2 Australia, 115-39, on Sunday at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center.
The Filipinas were completely overwhelmed by the size, skill, and discipline of the Opals, who controlled the tempo from start to finish in their Pool B opener.
The Opals showed no signs of letting up, dominating both ends of the court throughout the lopsided contest.
Australia’s depth and intensity were on full display in the fourth quarter, where they unleashed a blistering 28-2 run.
The Philippines was held to just one field goal in the final 10 minutes, underscoring the Opals’ defensive stranglehold and offensive firepower.
“It was a tough loss for us,” said Gilas head coach Pat Aquino. “I think it’s a very, very tough loss for these young girls. They have to learn how we play FIBA Basketball. I know these girls are young girls, just playing now in FIBA.
“We’re in a transition where we’re inserting new kids. We gotta do better. I’d like to congratulate Australia for a good job and we hope that we could do better coming into the next few games, and hopefully we could start learning how we can play better together,” he added.
Despite the blowout, Gilas showed some fight early on. After Australia opened the game with a 12-0 blitz, Vanessa De Jesus and Naomi Panganiban combined for a 9-2 counter run that trimmed the deficit to just five, 14-9.
However, that was as close as the Philippines would get.
Australia quickly regained control, ending the first quarter with a commanding 31-14 lead.
From there, the Opals methodically built on their advantage, using their cohesion and size to dominate in all facets of the game. The lead ballooned to as many as 76 points following an Abbey Ellis basket with 1:30 remaining.
No player from the Philippine side reached double figures.
De Jesus led the Gilas with nine points and three rebounds, while Panganiban chipped in eight points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Kent Pastrana also scored eight points but struggled with her efficiency, going just 3-of-14 from the field in her Gilas debut.
Veteran center Jack Animam had a tough outing, scoring just two points — the team’s only basket in the final frame — on 1-of-11 shooting while grabbing five rebounds.
The Philippines will look to bounce back quickly as they face another formidable opponent in world No. 9 Japan on Monday at 7:30 PM.
Gilas are hoping to notch their first win and keep their playoff hopes alive in the group stage.
On the other side, six Australian players finished in double figures in the rout, as the team shot an impressive 61-percent from the field.
Miela Goodchild led the way with 19 points on 70-percent shooting, while Sarah Blicavs added 17 points and six rebounds.
Chloe Bibby delivered a double-double performance with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists in under 20 minutes of action.
Alexandra Fowler and Michelle Woods chipped in 11 points apiece, while Isobel Borlase rounded out the scoring with 10 points for the Opals.
Australia, now off to a strong start, will aim for back-to-back wins as they face Lebanon on Monday at 4:30 PM.
