The Philippines U16 national team enters the FIBA World U17 Championships after they defeated Chinese Taipei in the semi-finals of the 3rd FIBA Asia U16 Championship held on Thursday, October 3, 2013.
The national youth basketball team of the Philippines ended their semi-finals jinx as the they defeated the determined Chinese Taipei team with the final score at 77-72. The win also secures the Philippines first-ever medals in the FIBA Asia U16 Championship.
The FIBA World Championship U17 will be played in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from June 26-July 6, 2014. It will be the first time that the Philippines U16 securing a rare ticket to the FIBA World Championship. The success of the U16 squad followed the success of the Gilas Pilipinas seniors team that will compete in the FIBA World Cup 2014 in Spain.
The Philippines entry to the gold medal game avenged their previous losses in the competition. During the last two edition of the FIBA Asia U16, they were defeated by China and Korea in the semi-finals. On their bronze medal game, the Philippines were also defeated by Iran and Japan respectively.
The Philippines U16 victory against Chinese Taipei also avenged the lone loss of the Philippines against Taiwan during the preliminary round of the competition with the score at 90-95, in favor of the Chinese Taipei youth team.