Philippines Down Thailand to Rule SEABA and Reach the U18 Asia Cup

The Philippines reaffirmed their grip on Southeast Asian basketball, beating hosts Thailand 85-70 in the title game of the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 SEABA Qualifiers to top the region and book their place at the continental finals.
By reaching the final of the Sub-Zone competition at the beach resort city, both the Philippines and Thailand secured their tickets to the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026, to be played in Ahmedabad, India, from August 13-23. The Gilas boys were dominant throughout, sweeping their group phase unbeaten and then routing Malaysia 130-54 in the criss-cross semifinals, while Thailand reached the final by overcoming Indonesia 68-50 the hosts' only loss of the tournament coming against the Philippines.
The SEABA pair join a steadily filling field for FIBA's flagship youth event in Asia. Hosts India qualify automatically staging the competition for the first time in more than two decades alongside the qualifiers from the other Sub-Zones, plus Australia and New Zealand. Five more teams are still to come through over the next few weeks, with the WABA Qualifiers in Amman (July 7-11) sending three and the Gulf Basketball Association Qualifiers in Doha (July 17-22) adding two to complete the lineup.