Gilas Pilipinas Women eliminated from FIBA Women's Pre-OQT contention

The Gilas Pilipinas Women were eliminated from contention in the FIBA Women’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament after Wednesday’s games in Mexico.

The Philippines suffered an 85-38 loss to world No. 7 Canada, making its path to the qualifiers more difficult. Mexico then formally eliminated Gilas Women from contention with a 79-65 victory over Senegal.

Only the top two teams of the group will advance to the semifinals of the pre-Olympic qualifiers.

Gilas Women will still face Senegal on Friday, with the team looking to end its tournament campaign on a high note.

“Obviously, this is a really 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. Canada’s defense took us out of it,” BT Toews said after the loss to Canada.

Despite the setback, the national women’s team remains determined to show its true brand of basketball against Senegal.

“We have another chance tomorrow, and it would be great if we could regroup in 24 hours and show more than we showed today,” Toews said.

Gilas Women veteran Jack Animam also emphasized the significance of competing against a top-ranked team like Canada.

“For us, to be here and playing against them (Canada), that’s something,” Animam said.

“We have another game tomorrow, another chance for us to show how we play.”

The Olympic Qualifying Tournament is only one pathway to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, as FIBA’s respective continental cups will also allocate spots for the Games.

—JKC, GMA News