AHMEDABAD (India) - The Philippines lived by the three-point shot to sneak from behind and boot out Syria, 72-63, to advance to the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 Quarter-Finals at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium, Thursday.
Aidan Dayco-Green led the way with 18 points on an efficient 8-of-13 shooting from the field as the talented forward presided over their third-quarter reversal after finding themselves staring at a 44-42 deficit.
He first knotted the game up with a bucket from inside and then knocked down his lone trifecta of the game, before JB Cagurungan hit one from deep as Gilas Youth finished the period with a 9-0 run for a 51-44 lead.
Not long after, that gap would push to 59-49 behind a Xavier Chio trey early in the final period as the SEABA champions garnered their points almost exclusively from beyond the arc to take control for good.
And when their foes from WABA closed the gap to just four, Ethan Aguas nailed a stepback triple with 2:31 to go to restore order, 65-58, before Bruce Tubongbanua and Luke Atacador helped apply the finishing touches.
Eventually, all of Team Philippines would celebrate at center court as they helped the program reach the Quarter-Finals for the first time since the 2022 edition in Iran, where the batch led by Mason Amos finished sixth.
Gilas Youth hit a total of 12 triples in the victory that set up a showdown with China in the next round.
Two more players finished in double figures for the Filipino dribblers. Cagurungan notched 12 points behind a 4-of-8 clip from rainbow country, with Tubongbanua chipping in 10 points, spiked by a pair of threes.
The trio of Aguas (8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists), Atacador (8 points), and Pat Pasinos (5 points, 7 rebounds) all came through with significant contributions to help the crew notch their third win overall in this tilt.
Put to naught by the tough loss were the efforts of Majak Majak, who finished with game-highs of 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead Syria. Taym Aldassouki and Yehya Kassas backed him up with 15 and 14, respectively.
Even though it was a bitter end to their campaign, Syria aren't going home empty-handed, having tallied a win - a 72-64 stunner of Lebanon in the Group Phase - unlike in their past two stints, where they went 0-6 combined.
FIBA