Gilas Pilipinas Women found their rhythm on Thursday, pulling away in the second half behind the hot shooting of Vanessa de Jesus to beat Thailand, 83-66, in the 2025 William Jones Cup at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium.
The win was a strong response from the Philippine squad following a tough 85-59 loss to host Chinese Taipei in their tournament opener on Wednesday.
Thailand appeared to have Gilas’ number in the first half, taking a 37-36 lead into halftime after capitalizing on Gilas’ early turnovers and cold shooting.
But the tide turned in the third quarter.
De Jesus, the sharp-shooting guard from the University of Notre Dame, ignited Gilas’ offensive burst with a flurry of triples, while Jack Animam dominated the paint with deft footwork and physicality. Gilas outscored Thailand 26-12 in the third to build a 13-point cushion heading into the final period.
From there, the Filipinas never looked back, using pressure defense and balanced scoring to keep Thailand at bay. Gilas still outscored Thailand in the fourth quarter, 22-17.
Gilas women’s head coach Pat Aquino praised de Jesus for the boost she provided the team–she only scored 7 points in their loss against Chinese Taipei, and the entire team for responding well to the adjustments the coaching staff made during the half time huddle.
The win leveled Gilas’ record to 1-1 and sets the stage for a clash against South Korea on Friday.
Gilas is seeking to improve on its strong Jones Cup performance last year, where it finished third.
