The Gilas Pilipinas Women will be vying against top 20 teams in the world as they try to make history in the FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifiers.
The Gilas Pilipinas Women face tall odds as they chase a historic berth at the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup with the qualifying tournament happening in Lyon in March of next year, having been drawn to tournament D.
Gilas, who nabbed a shot at the qualifying tournament after a Top 6 finish in the 2025 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup, will be vying for two spots in their group of six teams — including World Cup hosts Germany, who are already qualified for the final tournament.
African champions Nigeria are also already through after winning the 2025 Women’s AfroBasket in August.
This means that although there are six squads in Gilas’ tournament in Lyon, only four teams will vie for the two spots that are at stake in the high-level tournament. But, it isn’t going to be a walk in the park for the Filipina basketball players.
Gilas are the lowest-ranked team in the tournament with all five other teams ranked in the Top 20.
Qualifying host France is World No. 3 while South Korea are ranked 15th. Colombia, the next ranked team after Gilas, is World No. 19.
Gilas is currently World No. 39.
Qualified teams Germany (No. 12) and Nigeria (No. 8) are also well above Gilas Pilipinas’ level at the moment.
However, Gilas will look to pull off some surprises after getting used to top-level competition in recent years — especially in the Asian level.
Gilas has yet to make an appearance at the FIBA Women’s World Cup.
The national team, led by long-time stalwart Jack Animam, will hope to make history against some of the world’s best teams next year.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.