LYON-VILLEURBANNE (France) - They may have fallen short in their latest FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournament outing, but national pride should still be bursting through the veins of Philippines after putting on a show in Lyon-Villeurbanne.
You could have forgiven the debutantes for heading into their contest against Nigeria in a downbeat mood. With two big losses in the first two days and without both centerpiece Jack Animam and rising star Naomi Panganiban, they could have felt sorry for themselves.
Instead, they stepped onto court, held their heads high and produced a 'Popcorn Performance'.
Full of plays for the highlights reel, it cascaded passion, heart and belief. Those elements were also punctuated at regular intervals by some classy transition basketball, energetic defense and deadly shooting.
Eventually eased out 101-84, Gilas Pilipinas had the African champions on the ropes until the final 10 minutes. Accumulating a double-digit advantage during the early exchanges, still up by nine points at the break and only a four-point game heading into the last quarter.
In fact, it took a record-breaking display by Nigeria to beat them, with their opponents scoring more points and handing out more assists (36) than any African team previously in the competition.
But this was never a game about the numbers - it had a bigger context than that.
It was about breathing life into their debut campaign, flirting with what would have been a seismic scale headline of toppling a FIBA Continental winner and playing their part in a compelling and entertaining contest that fans of the sport will have loved.
Most importantly of all, this game was about shining a spotlight on a bright future.
After facing their arguably two toughest games of this tournament, Philippines showed they can pack a punch at the global level. Even without some big-hitters and in tough circumstances, they pushed the Paris 2024 Quarter-Finalists hard before fading down the stretch.
It was also a true team performance and that bodes well looking ahead. There were four players in Janine Pontejos, Louna Ozar, Kent Jane Pastrana and Stefanie Berberabe who all posted double-digit scoring returns, while Angelica Surada who just missed out on that feat, was perhaps still their top performer.
The big question now is whether Philippines can kick on and take the positives into their remaining games against Korea and Colombia to secure the historical first ever global FIBA win they're craving.
Let us know if you think they will do it by casting your vote in the fan poll below.
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