MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines has long been basketball royalty in the region with its men’s team winning a record 18 gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games.
Gilas went undefeated in the 2019 SEA Games to capture the title once more but their triumph took a backseat when the women won their first.
Pat Aquino’s team broke the duopoly of Thailand and Malaysia in the women’s circuit and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Al Panlilio said the gold medal is just the start for Gilas Pilipinas Women.
“History has been made! For the first time our Filipina basketball players are queens of the Southeast Asian Games,” said Panlilio in a statement.
“The SBP congratulates coach Patrick Aquino and all the members of the team as this is surely the fitting reward to the hard work they put in throughout the years.”
Gilas Pilipinas Women overwhelmed Thailand, 91-71, in the final for their historic gold medal that ended 42 years of searching.
The Philippines entered the podium after missing out in the past two SEA Games.
“The SBP strongly believes that this is just the beginning as there’s a brighter future ahead for our Gilas Pilipinas Women.”
Apart from the 5-on-5 matches, the Philippines also introduced the 3×3 format in the 2019 SEA Games and the country came away with two more gold medals in the half court set.
Of the four basketball events, the Philippines bagged four titles.
“Mission accomplished. Four gold medals for the Philippines in basketball capped by another dominant run by our Gilas Pilipinas Men team. With the country hosting the SEA Games, it gave us a unique opportunity to showcase the best team we could form,” said Panlilio.
“But we could not have done this without the support of PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial and the PBA Board of Governors as they made all of their players available for coach Tim Cone.”
For the past few SEA Games, the Philippines has been sending out a team of collegiate players until 2019 when PBA stars were featured in the roster.
“The SBP also extends its thanks to Smart and San Miguel Corporation who collaborated seamlessly to build this team.”