Gilas Girls back in the country after FIBA Asia U16 Division A promotion

The Gilas Piipinas Girls are back in the country following a flawless run in the FIBA Under-16 Women's Asian Championship Division B in Amman, Jordan that saw the nationals sweep their way through the competition en route to earning promotion to Division A.

Gilas Girls will be competing against Asia's best led by Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, and New Zealand, among others when they see action in the 2025 FIBA Under-16 Women's Asian Championship Division A.

Gilas was bannered by 15-year-old Ava Fajardo, who led the team in scoring and assists with 16.2 points and 5.4 assists per game, as well as Nevaeh Smith with a 13.2 points per game average. Ariel Star De La O also logged 8.6 points and a team-best 10.0 rebounds per contest.

Also helping the team were Sophia Anne Canindo, Ryan Kelly Nair, and Alyssa Rylee Palma.

The wards of head coach Patrick Aquino defeated all their opponents in the pool stage, beating Hong Kong, Maldives, and host Jordan before ripping Malaysia in the semifinals to arrange a finals date with Iran.

Against Iran, it was pretty much the same for the young Filipinas after carving out an 83-60 victory to claim the title and promotion.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News