THE wrath of China.
Showing no mercy, Team Dragon pounded Gilas Pilipinas, 105-61, sending the reigning Asian Games champion immediately packing from Nagoya, Japan.
Power forward Wang Junjie, who played college ball at University of San Francisco and University of Massachusetts, led the Chinese assault early on, scoring 14 points in the first half as his team took a commanding 36-point 66-30 lead.
The Philippines entered the Monday noon game, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Aichi International Arena carrying a +27-point differential, meaning a loss by 37 points or less would still have been enough to send Gilas into the knockout quarterfinals.
But it wasn’t meant to be.
With the heartbreaking semifinal loss to the Filipinos in the Hangzhou Asiad four years ago still etched in their minds, the Chinese were unforgiving and kept stepping on the gas pedal until the waning seconds when the margin of victory reached 44 points.
Wang finished with a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds, Liao Sanning added 14, and Hu Mingxuan 13 for China, which ended up as the No. 1 seed heading into the quarterfinals where it will face No. 8 Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Falcons benefitted the most from Gilas Pilipinas’ 44-point blowout as they were at -11 prior to the China-Philippines contest.
Under the format, the two best third-place finishers will join the top two teams from each group in the quarterfinals. Jordan was the other country in contention, aside from Saudi Arabia and the Philippines, with a -5-point differential.
China ended up topping Group C with a 3-0 record, same as South Korea in Group A.
Calvin Oftana was the lone player to finish in double figures for Gilas Pilipinas, which shot 32 percent from the field, clobbered on the boards, 55-36, and committed 15 turnovers.
The Philippines ended its campaign in ninth place, its lowest finish since the Gilas Pilipinas program began in 2010 and since the PBA began sending its players to the Asiad in 1990.
The scores:
China (105) - Wang 20, Liao 14, Hu 13, Li 11, Jiao 11, Cui 10, Hu 10, Yu 9, Pang 7.
Philippines (61) - Oftana 13, Barefield 9, Trollano 7, Bolick 5, Ahanmisi 5, Lucero 5, Ganuelas-Rosser 5, Nocum 4, Abarrientos 4, Bates 2, Arana 2, Baltazar 0.
Quarters: 36-16, 66-30, 79-40, 105-61. / PBA.PH