MANILA – After steering the Gilas Women’s U16 team to a successful campaign at the FIBA Under-16 Women's Asian Championships, head coach Patrick Aquino will now shift his focus to the seniors once again.

This time, he will be leading the squad to the Women’s William Jones Cup as the squad starts to ramp up their preparations for China’s Asian Games in September.

• FIBA: Gilas U16 Women promoted to Division A after routing Iran

"I’m going to practice with the senior team again,” Aquino said upon their arrival in the Philippines.

“It’s a good preparation. We’re going to be joining the Jones Cup, first week of August, and in the last week of August, we will have another tournament in Korea,” he added.

The team is coming off a historic sixth-place finish in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2023, and they are looking to use this momentum as the squad aims to continue to raise the bar for Philippine women’s basketball.

“Hopefully, those two tournaments are good preparations coming into the Asian Games,” Aquino added.

The William Jones Cup, which will be making its return after the tournament was halted by the pandemic, will be held from August 5 in Chinese Taipei.

Aquino then added that they are expecting Gabi Bade, who has recently recovered from an injury, to rejoin the squad.

Fil-Am Amaya Bonner from Florida State is also expected to join the team as they expand their pool for the incoming tournaments.

• Bigger Gilas Women pool expected for Asian Games, Jones Cup
• Basketball: Coach Pat Aquino sees a bright future for Gilas Women’s

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