President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday lauded the Gilas Pilipinas Youth team for its 6–0 sweep and gold medal win at the FIBA U16 Asian Championship SEABA Qualifiers, calling it a “clear testament” to the talent and determination of Filipino youth.
“A big salute to Gilas Pilipinas Youth! Congratulations on your dominant 6–0 run and the gold medal,” the President posted on X (formerly Twitter). “We support you in your next fight at the FIBA Asia Cup.”
Led by first-time national youth coach LA Tenorio, Gilas Pilipinas capped its undefeated run with a commanding 70–40 rout of Indonesia Friday night at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga. It was Tenorio’s first championship as coach and the first title for many on the U16 squad.
Gab De Los Reyes, who was named tournament MVP, anchored the victory with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Jhustin Hallare added 13 points, and Ethank Tan-Chi contributed nine, including two early three-pointers that helped set the tone in the first quarter. Gilas’ defense stifled Indonesia’s top scorer Benjamin Hernusi, limiting him to just eight points on 2-of-16 shooting.
“I think we played a way, way better defensive game from when we first met them,” Tenorio said. “I told the players, ‘We don’t need anything new—just do what we’ve been practicing for the past two months: be precise, be aggressive, and we won’t have problems.’”
With the win, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia secured berths in the FIBA U16 Asia Cup scheduled in Mongolia this July. Malaysia earned its spot after a 78–69 payback victory against Thailand in the battle for third place, overturning an earlier defeat in the preliminaries.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Marcos hails Gilas Youth’s ‘dominant’ gold run at FIBA U16 SEABA Qualifiers.”
