The Gilas Pilipinas Youth national team was unable to complete a late fourth-quarter comeback, suffering an 80-75 defeat against Japan during the classification phase of the 2026 FIBA U18 Asia Cup at the Veer Savarkar Stadium in Ahmedabad, India.
Playing from behind for most of the contest, the Philippines mounted a spirited rally in the final quarter. Down by as many as 14 points, the Filipino squad narrowed the deficit to just 67-64 following a run led by Chog Moral and JD Cagurungan with slightly over three minutes remaining on the clock.
However, the Japanese side repeatedly made clutch baskets late in the game to protect their lead and seal the win.
Moral paced the Philippines with a game-high 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists. George Green and Patrick Pasinos each added 10 points in the loss.
Kenichiro Benedict headlined Japan’s offensive effort with 20 points, supported by Cayman Tsuneoka’s 15 points and Kaito Nakamura’s 13.
With the defeat, the Philippines drops to the seventh-place classification match to face the loser of the encounter between Iran and Chinese Taipei. Meanwhile, Japan advances to play the winner of that matchup for fifth place in the tournament.