Gilas Pilipinas’ bid to retain its Asian Games men’s basketball title ended in a lopsided 105-61 loss to China on Monday in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
The Philippines needed to avoid losing by 38 points or more to keep its quarterfinal hopes alive, but China pulled away early and secured a 44-point victory.
Gilas trailed by 36 points, 66-30, at halftime and struggled to keep pace with China throughout the game.
The Philippines finished the Group C stage with a 1-2 record and failed to advance as one of the two best third-placed teams across the three groups.
Jordan and Saudi Arabia, which also finished 1-2, advanced with better point differentials. Jordan had a -5 differential, Saudi Arabia -11, while Gilas ended at -17.
The early exit guarantees the Philippines a ninth-place finish, its worst result in Asian Games men’s basketball.
Calvin Oftana was the lone Gilas player to score in double figures with 13 points, while Sedrick Barefield added nine points and four assists.
China dominated on both ends of the court, shooting 38% from three-point range and outrebounding the Philippines, 55-36. The Filipinos shot just 32% from the field and 23% from beyond the arc.
Junjie Wang led China with 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Sanning Liao and Mingxuan Hu contributed 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The loss marked a sharp reversal from the 2023 Asian Games, where Gilas Pilipinas defeated China in the semifinals before winning the gold medal and ending the Philippines’ 61-year wait for an Asian Games basketball title.
