Doha: Gilas Pilipinas Women surged to 14th in the latest FIBA 3x3 world rankings, climbing eight spots to achieve the highest ranking ever for a Philippine 3x3 national team. The leap follows the team's showing at the FIBA 3x3 Youth Nations League Asia-Pacific 1 held in Doha, Qatar, a campaign that secured the Philippines a slot in the 2025 FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup in China.

According to Philippines News Agency, the Philippines ruled four of the six stops in the Doha tourney, finishing with 530 points, 50 points ahead of second-ranked New Zealand. Composed of Cielo Pagdulagan, Kristine Cayabyab, Cheska Apag, Jem Meniano, Elaine Etang, and Kacey Dela Rosa, Gilas won Stops 1, 2, 4, and 5 to secure their ticket to China, where the youth event will be held from Sept. 17 to 21.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Erika Dy expressed pride in the team's accomplishments in Doha. 'Our women's teams have always been capable of competing against the best in the region and now the best in the world. They just needed the support to give them the opportunities to prove their skill,' she said.

National team's coach Anton Altamirano expressed gratitude for the support that helped the nationals achieve the feat. 'It's always an amazing feeling when you accomplish something that nobody expected. We came in the tournament with a goal to win some stops as we failed to do it last year. But when we won our first game against New Zealand, we felt we could do it. I'm really happy not just because we qualified but because I saw how well the girls prepared and did everything we told them to do no matter how hard it was,' he commented.

With its improved world rankings, the Philippines is now the fourth-best team in Asia behind Japan, Mongolia, and China. 'Ranking 14th in the world is a great achievement and I believe it's only the start,' Altamirano added.