Gilas Pilipinas Women fell to Senegal, 87-62, in their third group stage match of the Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Kigali, Rwanda.

However, even though it was a winless campaign, coach Patrick Aquino is certain that it would not be a fruitless trip.

“It’s our first time to play a South American team, an African team, and a European team,” he said in the post-game press conference. “It’s an honor to represent our part of the world.”

The lone representative from Southeast Asia, Gilas almost scored an upset against Brazil, fell flat against Hungary, and then competed but ultimately fell short against a much taller Senegalese side. But their commitment to play the game the right way and their perseverance and willingness from the jump to the final buzzer earned the respect of those present.

“I might not be the only one who fell in love with your team. You never quit, You never give up,” said a journalist from FIBA Africa during the post-game press conference.

Even the coach of Senegal had nothing but good things to say about Gilas.

“I know the history of how hard it was for them to develop a team. And to bring them here? Just to get here to this tournament was monumental,” said Otis Hughley Jr., who saw the Philippine women’s national team in 2014 while he was still coaching Chinese Taipei.

“They didn’t just get here. These ladies played from whistle to whistle, from end to end.”

According to Hughley, it was a great experience for his team to test themselves against well-coached opposition.

“For us to face that, it exposed what we needed to do. We went here to get better. Playing a game like that gives us unbelievable data and information for us to uncover who we really can be based on what we didn’t do well,” he said.

“It took a team like that, and they are very hard to find, to understand who we are. It was a great basketball game. I enjoyed that.”

Jack Animam led Gilas in scoring and rebounding with 13.0 points and 9.3 boards per game. Afril Bernardino was still effective with norms of 10.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest. However, the performance of the younger players, specifically Naomi Panganiban is what gave the team cause to be excited for the future as the 18-year-old guard, the youngest player who played in the tournament, was the team’s second leading scorer with 12.0 points per game.

“Overall I had a really great experience, I’m proud of how we fought until the end,” said Panganiban, who also shared she enjoyed the opportunity to meet the Filipino community that supported them in Rwanda.

“I definitely learned from my teammates, my older sisters, to fight until the end; giving it our best, never giving up.”

“I know we fell short but the learnings we got here make us proud,” Aquino stated.

“The things we learned here, we’re never going to get those anywhere. We’re thankful to FIBA. With the support of our federation, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, our President Al Panlilio, and our Executive Director Erika Dy, we hope we can continue to play at this level.”