Gilas Pilipinas Faces 44-Point Defeat to China at Asian Games

NAGOYA, Japan – The sting of Gilas Pilipinas’ 44-point collapse to China nearly kept Sen. Bong Go from boarding his flight.

A self-confessed “true-blue basketball fan,” Go admitted he almost scrapped his trip to this bustling metropolis after watching the national team’s 61-105 defeat in the preliminary round of the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 — a loss that abruptly ended the country’s reign in the continental showpiece.

They watched it in the Senate. They hoped, at the very least, to be spared humiliation.

“We were watching at the Senate and cheering for Gilas not to lose by 37 points,” Go recalled during a dinner on Saturday, Sept. 19, hosted by Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Pato Gregorio.

Instead, the margin ballooned. China pulled away. The scoreboard turned brutal.

“Like every Filipino fan, I was really disappointed. Imagine, losing by 44 points,” he said.

Gilas went into the tournament with what officials described as its “second team,” and the gap in quality showed. The 61-105 defeat did not just end a campaign; it snapped the Philippines’ hold on a stage where it had long prided itself on punching above its weight.

Go, though, still flew in.

Driven by his desire to stand behind Filipino athletes, he arrived in Nagoya last Wednesday, Sept. 16, and quickly shifted his focus to another front. The following day, he was in the stands for Alas Pilipinas Women’s game against Kazakhstan, embracing his increasingly familiar role as one of the country’s loudest cheerleaders.

The disappointment has not dulled his resolve. If anything, it has sharpened the questions.

After the Games, Go said, a full assessment awaits — not just of the overall Philippine delegation, but especially of the Gilas squad that absorbed one of its heaviest defeats in recent memory.