Gilas Boys celebrate after clinching FIBA U17 World Cup slot

Gilas Pilipinas Boys secured its place in the 2024 FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup with a 64-59 comeback win against Japan in the quarterfinal round of the FIBA U16 Asian Championship early Saturday morning (Philippine time) in Doha, Qatar.

Watch the moments on the court after Gilas Pilipinas Boys defeated Japan in the knockout round.

The Philippines is making a return to the FIBA U17 World Cup after missing the 2022 edition.

They last competed in the U17 World Cup in 2018, with a team led by Kai Sotto and Carl Tamayo. That team won two games and finished 13th out of 16 teams.

Gilas Boys - known then as Batang Gilas - also participated in the 2014 edition of the U17 World Championship, where a team that included Matt Nieto, Mike Nieto, Jolo Mendoza, Jollo Go, and Paul Desiderio went up against a USA team that had future NBA star Jayson Tatum.

With the win, Gilas Boys also advanced to the semifinals of the FIBA U16 Asian Championship, where they will take on Australia.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News