The women of Gilas Pilipinas continue to prove that glass ceilings are made to be cracked, even on days when the tournament standings say otherwise.
Already eliminated from quarterfinal contention after a loss to China, the Filipinas walked into their final game at the FIBA 3×3 Women’s World Cup in Warsaw with nothing at stake except pride. They walked out with history.
Gilas stunned Italy, 17-13, on Wednesday to secure the country’s first-ever victory in the FIBA 3×3 World Cup, toppling the 2018 world champion and the tournament’s No. 11-ranked team in a result that far exceeded its implications in the standings.
The Philippines entered the competition ranked No. 18 in the world. Italy was supposed to be the favorite. Camille Clarin had other ideas.
For three games, the Gilas sniper looked like a player still searching for the shooting touch that once made her one of the country’s most dangerous scorers. Recovering from an ACL injury suffered last year, Clarin arrived in Poland carrying both expectations and uncertainty.
Then, on the biggest stage of her comeback, the basket suddenly looked as wide as Manila Bay.
Clarin drilled four two-pointers and finished with eight points, each long-range strike arriving like a plot twist Italy never saw coming. Her final bomb with 20 seconds remaining snuffed out a late Italian rally and turned a close contest into a landmark Philippine victory.
Veteran Afril Bernardino chipped in four points and six rebounds, while Mikka Cacho and Kacey Dela Rosa supplied timely support.
The win will not send Gilas into the knockout rounds. It does, however, send a message.
Eight years after going winless in its World Cup debut in Bulacan, the Philippines finally has a victory on the global stage. More importantly, it has evidence that the gap between contender and giant-killer is shrinking.
For Gilas Women, Warsaw ended not with a goodbye, but with a warning shot.
