MANILA – The Gilas Pilipinas girls’ team successfully clinched a spot in the semifinals of the 2024 FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup Division B.

The young Filipina hoopers did so after defeating Lebanon, 89-63, during their Tuesday faceoff at the Futian Sports Park in Shenzhen, China.

This was the second victory of Gilas in the tilt as they dismantled Maldives on Monday, and leading the Nationals this time around was Naomi Panginiban who fired 25 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and four steals.

Following her was Gabby Ramos who posted a dominant 12-point, 19-rebound game, while Tifanny Reyes also scored 12 markers alongside two each of assists and steals.

Only ahead by four, 16-12, early in the game, Reyes fired a triple to jumpstart a nine-to-two spurt and build a 25-14 lead after the first period.

The Filipinas then went on to continue with their dominance in the following frame and even limited their Lebanese counterparts to only scoring 11 in that span, and this allowed GIlas to eventually breakaway by as much as 29, 84-55, later in the contest.

Also playing a factor in the Philippines’ victory was their defense, with the squad even tallying 16 steals, and their efforts on that end resulted in Lebanon committing 27 turnovers.

In addition, Gilas girls also flexed their might on the offensive glass and grabbed 31 of those in comparison to their opponents’ 19.

They now sit at 2-0 in Group B and will be competing on Saturday following the conclusion of the group stage.

Meanwhile, Maygen Naassan led Lebanon with 17 points, while following her was Reem El Ghali who had had a double-double of 14 markers and 11 boards.

The Scores

Philippines 89 – Panganiban 25, Ramos 12, Reyes 12, Rodriguez 9, Canindo 6, Quinte 6, Impreso 5, Abong 4, Duenas 3, Villanueva 3, Fajardo 2, Lapasaran 2.

Lebanon 63 – Naassan 17, El Ghali 14, Faraj 10, Hoteit 7, Barakat N. 5, Mosleh 5, Ajami 4, Bado 1, Awad 0, Nakib 0, Barakat M. 0, Jaoude 0.

Quarters: 25-14, 44-25, 59-39, 89-63.