Gilas Pilipinas Boys will compete for third place in the 2026 B.League Under-16 Challenge Cup after finishing with a 2-1 record in the pool stage at Sumida City Gymnasium in Tokyo.

The Filipinos placed second in Group A after opening their campaign with a 91-81 victory over Chiba on Tuesday. They then suffered a 73-66 loss to Ryukyu before closing out pool play with a dominant 105-79 rout of Tachikawa on Wednesday.

Gilas will face Fukuoka in the battle for third on Thursday.

La Salle Green Hills standout Sam Esomchi has been the team’s top performer, averaging 19.3 points, 14.0 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks through three games.

Esomchi starred in the win over Chiba with 23 points, 19 rebounds, and two blocks, while Dwayne Madrigal and Lawrence Copia chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Against Ryukyu, however, Gilas trailed for all but the opening 10 seconds and fell behind by as many as 13 points before halftime.

Esomchi and Brielle Salazar sparked a second-half rally, but the Filipinos were unable to overcome the hot shooting of Eiji Oshiro, who scored 36 points, and Yuito Kawamitsu, who added 26.

Gilas responded with a balanced offensive performance against the Dice, with six players finishing in double figures.

Copia led the way with 19 points, followed by Zap Ong with 17, Jayson Mercado with 15, Josh Saga with 14, while Esomchi and Salazar contributed 12 points each.

FEU-Diliman captured the tournament championship in last year’s edition.

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National University survived a late scare from the Malaysia Select Team, escaping with an 81-78 victory to open its 2026 BLIA Cup campaign on Wednesday at Kaohsiung Arena in Taiwan.

The Lady Bulldogs, who finished runners-up in last year’s tournament after falling to Japan Women’s College of Physical Education in the final, leaned on clutch free throws from Tin Cayabyab and a game-saving defensive play by Zaydhen Rosano to secure the win.

NU appeared to be in complete control after building a 73-60 lead with seven minutes remaining and extending it to 79-72 with 1:15 left.

Malaysia, however, mounted a furious rally. Khalidah Kamaludin knocked down a three-pointer with 47.7 seconds remaining to trim the deficit to 79-76 before a NU turnover led to a Tan Sin Jie layup that cut the lead to just one, 79-78, with 21.6 seconds left.

Cayabyab then calmly sank two free throws after drawing a foul from Kamaludin, restoring NU’s three-point cushion at 81-78.

Following a timeout, Rosano came up with the defensive play of the game, anticipating and stealing Tan Sin Jie’s inbound pass before dribbling out the remaining time to preserve the Lady Bulldogs’ opening-day victory.

Cielo Pagdulagan paced NU with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field.

Rosano added 15 points, four rebounds, two assists, and three steals, while Cayabyab finished with 16 points on a perfect 6-of-6 clip from the free-throw line to go along with six rebounds.

Ann Pingol chipped in nine points and eight rebounds.

Tan Sin Jie led the Malaysia Select Team with 16 points.

NU will face National Taiwan Normal University on Thursday.

The top two teams in each pool will advance to the crossover semifinals.

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• Nam Blazers 89-72 UCU Canons (3-0)

​Namuwongo Blazers are heading to the NBL Finals after delivering a ruthless series 3-0 sweep against the UCU Canons.

In a high-stakes playoff matchup where the Canons needed a win to stay alive, the Blazers kept their foot on the gas, closing out the semi-final series in dominant fashion to set up a blockbuster final showdown.

Nam Blazers secured a well-deserved 89-72 victory against UCU Canons in the NBL encounter at Lugogo Indoor Arena on Wednesday evening.

Alier Perch Lier and Jimmy Otim got the game underway with a dunk and reverse layup before Kasereka Tembo responded with a long shot beyond the paint.

The Canons suffered a big blow as Otim was lifted off the court due to an injury. At the climax of the end-to-end opening frame, the Blazers held onto a seven-point (24-17) lead.

In the second quarter, the Canons improved their ball handling thus attacking the Blazers relentlessly in an equal fair 20-20, though the later took a seven-point (44-37) lead going into the long break.

Drileba Tonny concluded the third period with a 3-point jumpshot as the Blazers extended their lead to 20 points before the final frame.

Despite the Canons hanging in the contest, the Blazers secured a 17-point victory.

Kasereka Tembo (20 points), Nyembo Fataki (14 points) and Anthony Chukwurah (13 points) led the Blazers’ scoring chart in double digits.

On the other hand, Ibanda Lwabaga (16 points), Marvin Jesse Okurut (16 points) and Flore Dushime (12 points) scored double digits for the Canons.

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