History of Gilas Pilipinas Boys in FIBA U18 Asia Cup

The Gilas Pilipinas Boys squad is currently competing in the 2024 FIBA Under-18 Asia Cup in Amman, Jordan, where they are set to take on Japan for a shot at making the quarterfinal round of the tournament.

Here’s a look back on recent Asia Cups and how the Gilas youth team has fared.

2022 FIBA U18 Asian Championship, 6th place

Roster: Earl Abadam, Prince Alao, Mason Amos, LA Andres, Jared Bahay, Joshua Coronel, Kobe Demisana, Seven Gagate, Kyle Gamber, James Nacua, Luis Pablo, Kristian Porter

The year 2022 saw the breakout of Gilas Pilipinas Men player and collegiate star Mason Amos, who led the Gilas Boys to a sixth place finish in the Asia Cup. Amos dominated the competition for the Philippines, averaging 21.2 points, second-best in the field behind only tournament MVP Lee Juyeong of South Korea, which won the Asian U18 title that year.

He led the team to a 3-0 card in the group phase with wins over Chinese Taipei, Qatar, and Syria. The team, though, fell 99-83 to Lebanon in the quarterfinals before splitting their two games in the classification round to finish 6th overall. 

Amos went on to suit up for the Philippines in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asia Qualifiers. Earl Abadam of De La Salle University averaged 11.2 points per game while Jared Bahay, the top-ranked high school player in the country who is set to debut for Ateneo, had norms of nine points and a team-high five assists.

Korea defeated Japan in the finals of the tournament while China also finished on the podium in third place.

2018 FIBA U18 Asian Championship, 4th place

Roster: Gerry Abadiano, Rhayyan Amsali, Geo Chiu, Raven Cortez, AJ Edu, Dave Ildefonso, Bismarck Lina, Miguel Oczon, Dalph Panopio, Joshua Ramirez, Kai Sotto, Xyrus Torres

Despite a field featuring powerhouse Oceania teams Australia and New Zealand, the Philippines had its best finish in recent memory in 2018 behind a stacked crew that featured twin towers AJ Edu and Kai Sotto as well as Dave Ildefonso.

The team went unbeaten in the group phase against Lebanon, UAE, and China behind some big scoring performances from Ildefonso. In the quarters, Sotto (21 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks) and Edu (16 points and 17 boards) came up huge to lead the Gilas Boys past Bahrain, 67-52. They didn’t have enough to make it past eventual champion Australia, though, in the semis and dropped a rematch against China in the third place game to settle for fourth. Second placer New Zealand was the only other team that finished ahead of them.

The 6-foot-10 Edu finished with averages of 14.2 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks while the 7-foot-3 Sotto posted 12.7 points, 8.7 boards, and 1.5 blocks. Edu and Sotto both play professionally in the Japan B.League while Ildefonso was an Asian import in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) before recently being drafted 5th overall by NorthPort in the 2024 PBA Draft. Other notable players on this squad were Migs Oczon and Dalph Panopio, who also both play in the KBL as well as Geo Chiu, who has played in Taiwan and will see action in Japan’s B2.

2016 FIBA Asia U18 Championship, 7th place

Roster: JB Bahio, Kemark Carino, Theo Flores, JV Gallego, Rendell Lee, Jethro Madrigal, Gian Mamuyac, Jolo Mendoza, Harvey Pagsanjan, Joshua Sinclair, Jonas Tibayan, Fran Yu 

In 2016, a Batang Gilas team led by Jolo Mendoza (18.6 points per game) battled in the Asian championships but struggled in the group phase, going 2-3. That was enough, though, to see them through to the quarterfinal round where they lost to South Korea, 93-85.

Mendoza played alongside his Ateneo teammate Gian Mamuyac and both are now pros in the PBA with Meralco and Rain or Shine, respectively. Fellow PBA players Kemark Cariño (Terrafirma) and Fran Yu (Northport) were also part of the Batang Gilas. The team also included Filipino-Australian Joshua Sinclair, who would later be named part of the Gilas 23 for 23 list. He has since played in the Western Sydney Basketball Association (WSBA) in Australia, where he moved during the pandemic.

Iran ruled this edition of the tournament with Japan and South Korea finishing second and third.

2014 FIBA Asia U18 Championship, 5th place

Roster: Brandrey Bienes, Aaron Black, Andrei Caracut, Paul Desiderio, Mark Dyke, Richard Escoto, Jollo Go, Manuel Mosqueda, Kobe Paras, Santi Santillan, Radge Tongco, Dave Yu

The 2014 Batang Gilas team had an admirable run to finish fifth in Asia. Following a 3-2 record after the group phase and second round, the squad was eliminated in the quarterfinals against Chinese Taipei.

But they defeated Kazakhstan in the classification round and came up huge in a 113-105 overtime win over Japan behind a 27-point performance from Kobe Paras in the fifth place game to secure the spot.

Aside from Paras, who played in the Japan B.League, the squad featured future pros like Andrei Caracut, Aaron Black, Santi Santillan, and Paul Desiderio.

Since the tournament's inaugural edition in 1970 as the ABC Junior Championship, the Philippines has won six times in 1970, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1978, and 1982. The Philippines last had a podium finish in 1992 when it placed third. 

—Mikkel Bolante/JKC, GMA Integrated News