Gilas Youth survives Chinese Taipei comeback in Fiba U18 opener

Gilas Pilipinas Youth’s Ethan Matthew Aguas during a game vs Chinese Taipei in the Fiba U18 Asia Cup. –FIBA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Ethan Matthew Aguas drilled the game-winning jumper to save Gilas Pilipinas Youth from a 27-point meltdown against Chinese Taipei, escaping with an 89-88 victory to open their 2026 Fiba U18 Asia Cup campaign Thursday at Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium in Ahmedabad, India.

Gilas appeared to have the game in hand after Aguas completed a three-point play to give the Philippines its biggest lead, 65-38, with 6:03 remaining in the third quarter.

But Chinese Taipei mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback, with Carter Matthew Coleman giving his team an 88-87 lead on a fast-break layup with seven seconds left.

Aguas found a good spot on the right wing and sank a cold-blooded jumper to regain the lead for Gilas Pilipinas with 2.4 seconds left. Ting-Kuan Liu missed a potential game-winning shot as the Philippines escaped with the win in its first Group A game.

Gilas Pilipinas Youth’s Jan Bennett Cagurungan during a game vs Chinese Taipei in the Fiba U18 Asia Cup. –FIBA PHOTO

Jan Bennett Cagurungan led Gilas with 21 points, shooting 7-of-10 from 3-point range, while also grabbing five rebounds.

Aguas finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Prince Cariño added 10 points and nine rebounds, while Lino Tubongbanua Jr. had 10 points and four assists.

The Philippines dominated from the start, taking a 31-12 lead after the opening quarter with Cagurungan hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Gilas carried a 53-29 advantage into halftime.

Gilas takes on Australia on Saturday. The top seed of each pool will get an outright quarterfinal ticket, while the second and third teams will compete for the remaining four quarterfinal berths.

Coleman led Chinese Taipei with 22 points and seven rebounds. Liu had 21 points and six rebounds, while Jia-Han Huang added 15 points and nine boards.