Gilas Women coach Pat Aquino hopes for continuous rise of team after being no. 37 in rankings

Gilas Pilipinas Women recently climbed five spots in the FIBA world rankings and head coach Pat Aquino said this is a testament to their program.

The women's team is now at no. 37 in the latest rankings released by FIBA on Wednesday. 

"We've gotten a long way, we went through a long road but we are getting there. Just happy to continue what we are doing," Aquino said after their joint open practice with Gilas Pilipinas men on Thursday.

"It is a testament of our program, all the support and the people that are praying for us. Sana tuloy-tuloy (Hopefully it continues)," he added.

The rankings came after the team finished sixth in the 2023 FIBA Women's Asia Cup where they had their first win since being promoted to Division A in 2015 at the expense of Chinese Taipei.

Gilas Women, which will see action in the Asian Games for the first time since 1998, will open their campaign against Kazakhstan on September 28.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News