Courtesy: FIBA
Gilas Pilipinas Youth Men squandered a 27-point lead but were able to hold their ground in the dying seconds to outlast a scrappy Chinese Taipei team, 89-88 and win its first game in the 2026 FIBA U18 Asia Cup at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium in Ahmedabad, India on Thursday.
The Filipinos built a comfortable 83-68 lead midway through the final canto only to see the Taiwanese side rise from the grave as Carter Coleman and Ting-Kuan Liu sparked a spirited 20-4 run down the wire.
Coleman made a layup with seven seconds left to play to deliver Chinese Taipei ahead for the first time, 88-87 and put them on the verge of winning.
But Ethan Aguas scored from the right wing in the final 2.2 seconds to restore the Philippines’ lead that turned out to be the final count.
Liu tried to win it at the buzzer but missed his pull up jumper.
JB Cagurungan sizzled from beyond the arc with seven to finish with 21 points while Aguas added 16 markers for Gilas Youth Men.
Meanwhile, Liu and Coleman led Chinese Taipei with 23 and 22 points, respectively.
The Philippines will aim for its second win against fellow unbeaten Australia on Saturday.
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