The year 2025 proved to be a defining period for the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP)—a year marked by historic regional success, significant international competition, institutional reforms, and critical lessons that will shape the federation’s direction in the years ahead.
Across senior and youth national teams, 3x3 basketball, development programs, and governance milestones, the SBP navigated a spectrum of outcomes that both celebrated Philippine basketball’s strengths and exposed areas for growth.
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Rollercoaster journey for Gilas Men
Gilas Pilipinas Men experienced a season of mixed results on the international stage.
During the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, Gilas first felt the absence of Kai Sotto. After winning their first four games to book a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup, Gilas lost to Chinese Taipei and New Zealand in back to back games on the road.
In the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Gilas Men navigated a difficult group stage with consecutive losses to Chinese Taipei (95–87) and New Zealand (94–86). They rebounded with a win against Iraq (66–57) then defeated home team Saudi Arabia in a thriller (95–88 in OT) to secure a quarterfinals slot, where they were eventually eliminated by Australia (84–60) in the final eight stage.
Landing at 7th place was an improvement from the previous edition where the team placed 9th, but it was still short of expectations for the Tim Cone led squad.
Gilas Men then proceeded to the first window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers, which began with a Home and Away series with Guam. The Gilas Men used the window to bounce back from the Asia Cup, beating Guam twice, 87-46 and 95-71.
Sweet SEAG conquests
In the Southeast Asian Games, both Gilas Men and Women reclaimed regional dominance.
The men’s national team opened the tournament with commanding wins over Malaysia and Vietnam in the pools stage.
[ALSO READ: Ray Parks Jr. dedicates Gilas’ SEA Games gold to Filipinos amid tough times]
The squad led by coach Norman Black defeated Indonesia 71–68 in the semifinals and overcame a partisan crowd, beating Thailand, 70-64, for the gold.
Similarly, Gilas Pilipinas Women, which remained undefeated in its pool stage fixtures, also captured gold, beating Indonesia in the semifinals and Thailand in the finals, underscoring the program’s competitive depth across genders.
[ALSO READ: Kacey Dela Rosa happy to help Gilas Women in SEA Games redemption bid]
Although the double gold in 5x5 basketball confirms that Philippine basketball is still dominant in South East Asia, the Federation is aware that it is in no way an indication of how we size up against greater Asia and in the world stage - which is where we need to be making our mark as a basketball nation.
[ALSO READ: Gilas Women put trust in defense to reclaim SEA Games basketball gold]
Roster tweaks, challenges
In the men’s side, Coach Tim Cone and his staff has made adjustments in their line-up and pace of play as early as the last window of 2025 and we can expect more changes as they move along and work their way towards FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027, and hopefully LA28 Olympic Games.
Adjustments on and off the court will be key for the program to adapt to the changing international game.
On the women’s side, the Gilas Women saw relative success as they maintained Division A status in their version of the FIBA Asia Cup, beating Lebanon 73-70 in their group phase match-up.
This win also earned them a spot in the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament, which will be held in Villeurbanne, France this March.
The availability of players and training schedules were an issue for the Pat Aquino led squad.
The Federation, however, has identified that these can be avoided and better handled by making adjustments on the programming side and better relations with key stakeholders within the Philippine women’s basketball community.
The appointment of a Program Head that can evaluate further and effect immediate changes that can bring the Gilas Women to the next level is now a key priority for the SBP.
Ups and downs for 3x3 basketball
Despite strong expectations for regional success, the Gilas Men and Women 3×3 teams underperformed relative to expectations.
The Gilas women’s 3×3 squad did not advance to the semifinals at the SEA Games—even if practically the same team placed 4th in the FIBA Asia Cup earlier this year.
On the other hand, the Gilas Men’s 3x3 team who did not make the quarters of the FIBA Asia Cup, swept their elimination round only to fall short to the higher ranked Singaporean 3x3 squad, 21-20, in the semis.
They also eventually fell to Malaysia, 21-19, in the bronze medal match, leaving no medals on the table for Gilas 3x3.
The Gilas 3x3 Teams’ significant strides throughout the year must not be forgotten.
On the Women’s side, the team’s top 4 finish in the FIBA Asia Cup in Singapore despite having to play their last 3 games with only 3 players was a feat that bolstered their rankings in the global stage.
They also topped their conference in the U23 Nation’s League Tournament, earning them a spot in the FIBA U23 3x3 World Cup in China where they held their own against a group that included the USA and Spain.
The team also continued to compete in the FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series where they finished 18th out of 60 participating teams from around the globe.
On the men’s side, the team had failed to make the quarterfinals of the FIBA Asia Cup for the third straight year, though placed second in their conference in the U23 Nation’s League.
The team however made more than one appearance in the FIBA 3x3’s World Tour, this year. This was made possible with the SBP’s hosting of the 2025 FIBA 3x3 Manila Challenger where the team saw action in the quarters against Europe’s best clubs.
Despite the year end disappointment at the SEA games, the Gilas 3x3 Women’s Team is still on the right track as it is currently ranked at 19th globally while the Gilas 3x3 Men’s Team has much work to do and changes to effect at 40th.
SBP has already appointed a new program head for its 3x3 pillar in Ryan Gregorio. He has vast experience in Philippine basketball that includes three PBA championships and three PBA Coach of the Year awards.
Gregorio’s mandate will be to ensure success for both teams and engage the Philippine 3x3 community with more initiatives.
Youth success
The Gilas Youth teams maintained the Philippines’ regional stature.
In the 2025 SEABA Under-16 Championship, the Philippines’ boys’ youth squad dominated the competition and secured the title with a convincing win over Indonesia—a sixth straight championship in the region that reinforces the strength of the SBP’s early talent identification and development programs.
[ALSO READ: Juno Sauler replaces LA Tenorio as Gilas Youth head coach]
Though the Gilas Youth Boys’ squad had a poor showing at the U16 FIBA Asia Cup in Mongolia, the Gilas Youth Girls’ did not disappoint in the Division A of their version of the Asia Cup.
Bright young stars such as 15 year old Tiffany Reyes showed stellar performances throughout the tournament, including a game winning shot against South Korea, 77-75. The win secured their place in Division A basketball.
The Talent Identification and Development Program led by SEA Games Gold Medal Coach Norman Black also made strides this year.
On top of the annual camp and showcase in Las Vegas, USA where a number of Fil-foreign young talents are identified in North America, a total of 8 regions were covered by Coach Norman’s team.
There were 547 athletes that went through the different combines staged by the SBP, taking different metrics that show the potential of our future basketball stars and expose areas of improvement in how our regions teach basketball.
This program will further expand in 2026 and see the return of a National Junior Championship Tournament under the Federation.
The school based youth tournament will have championships in each SBP zone which leads to qualification into a week long festive finals.
Development continues
Beyond elite competition, 2025 underscored the SBP’s commitment to long-term capacity building:
•The Coaches Academy Program under Jong Uichico focused on strengthening the technical and tactical expertise of coaches nationwide. Camps were held in Iriga, Cebu, Pasig, Cavity, and Leyte - accrediting at least 474 coaches across Level 1 and Level 2. An all-women coaches clinic that featured international speakers was also executed by the academy to encourage and equip more female coaches.
•The Technical Academy Program, managed by Andrew Teh, achieved a milestone of nearly 12,000 registered referees—advancing the professionalism of officiating in Philippine basketball. In a historic first, the SBP facilitated the participation of an international referee in the NCAA Games, a strategic move aimed at enhancing officiating quality and broadening exposure to global standards. FIBA standard statisticians and table officials were also trained throughout the year.
Governance reforms
A notable institutional highlight was the SBP National Congress, which brought together stakeholders from across the country.
During the congress, delegates approved amendments to the federation’s bylaws designed to strengthen governance, expand representation (including the addition of a Player Representative on the Board), and formally integrate emerging disciplines like 3×3 and eFIBA into the SBP’s strategic framework.
The congress also preceded the election of new leadership and the creation of specialized commissions—including grassroots, players, and community and membership commissions—intended to support governance, competitive performance, and strategic growth. These reforms position the SBP for more inclusive and responsive leadership going forward, while training the next generation of leaders for Philippine sports.
The thrust of the new leadership is also to strengthen basketball in the regions. Instead of 16 Regional Directors that act as extensions of the Executive Director across the archipelago, the SBP will now recognized 14 zones.
The geographic realignment was made to consider more convenient travel and therefore monitoring for the now Zone Directors in their areas of responsibility.
The Zone Directors will be announced soon and will start their terms on February 1st.
Legislative Progress: Naturalization
On the legislative front, the SBP secured House approval for the naturalization of three players to bolster the national team pool for both 5x5 and 3x3—a key strategic goal in enhancing international competitiveness and lift local basketball.
The measure now awaits Senate approval and the President’s signature to become law. This legislative milestone reflects the federation’s sustained engagement with national institutions to support the game’s growth.
[ALSO READ: Bennie Boatwright, Malick Diouf, Elizabeth Means take first steps in naturalization bids]
International Collaboration
The SBP is always on the look-out for improvement. This means keeping an eye what the rest of the world is doing with the hopes of using the best practices of other federations and turning these into success for our local programs.
SBP has a current pending proposal with the Latvian Basketball Association, a federation what we’ve gotten to know from their stint in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 and our visit to Riga for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
SBP President Ricky Vargas and Executive Director Erika Dy are also set to travel to Japan to meet with the B.League and the Japanese Basketball Association on joint development efforts.
Moving forward
The SBP’s 2025 journey was one of balance—celebrating historic regional achievements while confronting competitive and organizational challenges at higher levels.
The year reinforced that success at the top must be supported by strong youth development, coaching excellence, technical officiating, and sound governance.
As Philippine basketball moves into 2026 and beyond, the lessons of 2025 will guide the federation’s efforts to build on its golden moments while addressing the gaps that remain.