Gilas Pilipinas Women were sent to the brink of elimination after suffering a 47-point beating at the hands of World No. 7 Canada, 85-38, in the FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the 2028 Olympics on Thursday morning (Manila time) at Arena Astros in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Canada asserted its dominance from the opening tip, suffocating the Philippines on both ends of the floor. The Canadians held Gilas to just four points in the opening quarter to take a 23-4 lead, while keeping the Filipinas scoreless for the first 5:05 of the game.
That early onslaught set the tone for the rest of the contest, as Gilas struggled to find its footing and could not build any momentum against Canada’s relentless pressure.
“It’s really a tough game for a coach to coach, but it’s also tough for players to play when the game is over in the first or second quarter,” said Gilas head coach BT Toews.
“Canada’s defense took us out of it, especially side pick and roll. We adjusted in the second half with high ball screens, but it was too little too late. Maybe my adjustment was too slow.”
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With the loss, the Philippines dropped to 0-2 and will be eliminated if Mexico defeats Senegal later in the day.
Jack Animam was the lone double-digit scorer for Gilas with 11 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, while Vanessa De Jesus finished with nine points, five rebounds, and seven turnovers.
Kacey Dela Rosa added eight points but struggled from the field, shooting just 3-of-12, while also grabbing five rebounds.
Toews acknowledged the gulf in rankings between the two teams but stressed that Gilas were capable of putting up a better performance.
“I think what we saw today was a 30th-ranked team in the world playing a seventh-ranked team, except that I know that we can play better than we played today,” he said.
“It just became a complete domination in every statistical category.”
Canada’s dominance was reflected in the statistics, as the Canadians overwhelmed the Filipinas on the glass, 63-26. Their 26 offensive rebounds alone matched the Philippines’ total rebounding output and helped fuel 21 second-chance points.
“We also had a lot of turnovers and they had a lot of offensive rebounds. The second-chance points must have been close to 40 today or more,” Toews said.
Canada also capitalized on Gilas’ miscues, forcing 23 turnovers and converting them into 26 points.
Toews said the Filipinas need to sharpen the smaller details if they want to take the next step, particularly as they continue their campaign in Asia.
“In order for us to get to the next level, starting in Asia, we definitely need to do better in the smaller things,” he said.
“One is you can’t finish a game and be a small team with zero fast break points. Of course, we didn’t get a ton of stops, but the stops we did get, we weren’t able to run as a team and put pressure on Canada.”
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Despite the lopsided result, Toews saw some positives from his team’s defensive effort.
“It really wasn’t a contest,” he said. “Having said that, our defense has been getting better in the last month or so. I thought today, in spite of Canada’s hot shooting, that our defense was at times good.
“The takeaway is we have a lot of work to do.”
Gilas will face Senegal on Friday morning to close out the group phase, with Toews hoping his team can quickly regroup.
“We really needed that first game against Mexico, but we have another chance tomorrow. It would be great if we could regroup in 24 hours and show more than we showed today,” he said.
Syla Swords led the Canadians with 15 points, while Jasmine Bascoe contributed 10 points, four assists, and three rebounds.
Cearah Parchment, Shaina Pellington, and Agot Makeer chipped in nine points apiece, while Yvonne Ejim nearly posted a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.
The Scores
Canada 85 – Swords 15, Bascoe 10, Parchment 9, Pellington 9, Makeer 9, Ejim 8, Dut 7, Alexander 6, Howell 5, Gibb 3, Hill 2, Wallack 2
Philippines 38 – Animam 11, De Jesus 9, Dela Rosa 8, Ozar 5, Surada 3, Pontejos 2, Bernardino 0, Pastrana 0, Dignadice 0, Joson 0, Rodriguez 0, Del Carmen 0
Quarterscores: 23-4, 46-11, 62-29, 85-38
