Gilas Women came to the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup in Singapore hoping for a good showing, and maybe even a podium finish. They left with the best finish in Philippine 3×3 basketball history.
Gilas Women fell to defending champions Australia Gangurrus 18-9 in the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2026 final on Sunday evening at OCBC Square—and it did not matter one bit. The silver medal secured by Kacey Dela Rosa, Afril Bernardino, Mikka Cacho, and Cheska Apag is the highest any Philippine team, men’s or women’s, has ever finished at this tournament.
Let that sink in.
The final itself was a mismatch on paper and largely played out that way. Australia raced to a 6–0 lead before Dela Rosa got Gilas on the board with 6:33 remaining. Bernardino—a stalwart of Philippine women’s basketball who has earned every minute on this stage — scored three straight baskets to trim the deficit to 12–7 and briefly gave the crowd something to believe in. Then Kristy Wallace and Amy Atwell answered with three consecutive deuces, and it was over. The Gangurrus claimed their sixth title overall and their fourth straight.
Gilas Women Goes on Cinderella Run
But the final tells only part of the story. The real one was written in the rounds before it.
Gilas Women entered the tournament with a 1–1 group stage record, having beaten Tonga 19–10 and losing to Australia 21–10. Nobody was circling them as a medal contender. Then they knocked off world No. 11 Mongolia 15–12 in the quarterfinals. Then they beat 12th-ranked Japan 21–19 in the semifinals—a result sealed by Dela Rosa’s dramatic game-clinching short stab with 47.4 seconds remaining after Bernardino sank a contested shot to break a 19–19 deadlock.
HERstory, More History
Two weeks of preparation. Two of the world’s top 12 teams knocked out. One silver medal.
“We only had two weeks of preparation and being with each other so this is all worth it,” Bernardino said after the semifinal. She was right — and then some.
The reward beyond the medal is equally significant. By earning silver, Gilas Women will return to Singapore on April 11–12 for the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2026 Qualifiers, drawn in Pool B alongside Singapore and Brazil. The top three teams advance to Warsaw in June.
The ceiling for this group is not yet known. Sunday proved it is higher than most thought.
