By MARK MONTEJO
The Philippine basketball youth squad continued its ascent in the world rankings after jumping by two places in the latest list.
Gilas Boys recently went up to No. 25 in the updated FIBA rankings, thanks to their strong showing in the U16 Asian Championship when they narrowly missed the podium and settled for fourth place after bowing to powerhouse China, 87-59.
Back then, Gilas was led by young stars Kiefer Alas, Irus Chua and Joaquin Ludovice and under the guidance of Josh Reyes.
In Asia and Oceania, the youth team is positioned behind Australia (No. 4), Iran (No. 20), and China (No. 24). The Filipino cagers placed better than New Zealand (No. 27) and Japan (No. 30).
Team USA still tops the list, followed by Spain, France, Australia and Serbia.
Meanwhile, the Gilas Girls improved eight places to No. 49 and 10th in Asia.
The Filipinas swept their assignments in Group B in the FIBA Under-16 Women’s Asian Championship Division B in Amman, Jordan last July, which resulted to their promotion to Division B.
The Gilas Girls are set to compete against Asian powerhouses Australia, Japan, South Korea, China and New Zealand in 2025.
