Gilas Women cap off 3×3 Asia Cup with historic silver medal

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Gilas Pilipinas Women wrapped up their Cinderella run at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup with a historic silver medal on April 5, 2026, at OCBC Square in Kallang, Singapore.

Despite falling to the powerhouse defending champions Australia Gangurrus in the grand finals, 9-18, the Filipinas still had a stellar campaign, surpassing their fourth-place finish in 2025 with the historic silver medal.

Upon arriving in Singapore, the quartet of Kacey Dela Rosa, Afril Bernardino, Cheska Apag, and Mikka Cacho had only one thing in mind: secure a podium finish.

From dreaming of barging into the top three, little did the Filipina ballers know that they were in store for a majestic ending, reaching the championship stage after getting through the grinder of the grueling elimination phase.

Gilas struggled against the Gangurrus, needing almost four minutes to get on the board while trailing, 1-6. Although Bernardino went on a personal scoring run to inch the Filipinas closer, 7-12, Australia unleashed another offensive avalanche to put itself in a commanding position.

In the end, Gilas ran out of gas and could only watch the Australians pick them apart on both ends of the floor to successfully defend their FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup title.

Deflated for quite some time, the Filipinas quickly held their heads up high after setting foot on the podium. For the first time, an all-Filipina squad clinched a medal in the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup. Herstory made.

Before reaching the championship round, Gilas first took care of business against Tonga and won in lopsided fashion, 19-10.

The first meeting against the eventual champions then came in the first match of the pool phase, where they absorbed their first loss against Australia, 10-21.

Eager to redeem themselves, Gilas bounced back in their next match against Mongolia, 15-12, to qualify for the semifinal round.

Despite entering the semifinal showdown as huge underdogs against Japan, Gilas continued to shock the world and pulled off the statement upset win, 21-19, to punch a ticket to the grand finals for a chance to get back at Australia.

The job’s not done yet for Gilas Women, as they are still set to compete in the FIBA 3×3 World Cup Qualifiers on April 11, 2026, also in Singapore.

A tougher competition lies ahead, as Gilas was drawn with Singapore and Brazil in Pool B, while Pool A consists of Hungary, Lithuania, and Egypt.

Laban Pilipinas, Puso!