Gilas Pilipinas Women move eight places up in latest FIBA rankings

The Philippine national women's basketball team is now ranked 43rd in the world, according to the latest global rankings released by FIBA.

Gilas Pilipinas Women moved eight places up from their previous standing at 51st spot following a decent finish in the 2021 FIBA Women's Asia Cup last October in Amman, Jordan.

USA, Spain, and Australia, meanwhile, maintained their rankings in first, second, and third places respectively.

During the Asia Cup, the Filipinas finished in seventh place after eking out a 74-70 victory over India in their classification match, which helped the squad keep hold of its spot in Division A.

India, meanwhile, was relegated to Division B.

Gilas' latest ranking will be a big boost in its preparation for a busy 2022, where it eyes competing in a number of competitions like the pre-qualifying tournament of the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup in February, the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games in May, and the 2022 Asian Games.

The Patrick Aquino-mentored squad is also hoping to get national team mainstay Jack Animam and Filipino-American Mai-Loni Henson on board come February.

—JMB, GMA News