The Gilas Pilipinas women’s team gets a crack at playing in the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup after getting drawn in Group C of the inaugural pre-qualifying tournament set in Rwanda from August 19 to 25.

The Gilas Women team was among the 16 best ranked teams – four per region and outside the 12 nations participating in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics – chosen to take part in the two pre-qualifying tournaments which dangle spots to the World Cup qualifiers.

The teams were then grouped into four following the results of the official draw on Thursday, April 25, with Groups A and B playing in Mexico City while Groups C and D battling it out in Rwandan capital Kigali.

However, the Filipinas are facing a tall order in the competition, needing to finish within the Top 2 of their group to advance to the semifinals where they will also take on the two best teams from Group D.

As it stands, Gilas is the lowest ranked team in its group, sitting at 40th spot in the world women’s rankings. Brazil is at No. 8, Hungary is at No. 16 and Senegal currently sits at No. 25 of the rankings.

Over at Group D, host Rwanda is drawn with Asian team Lebanon, and world powerhouses Great Britain and Argentina. Group A features Korea, Mali, Czechia and Venezuela while Group B has hosts Mexico, Montenegro, New Zealand and Mozambique.

The champion of the qualifying tournaments in Rwanda and Mexico will then join 22 other teams, to be determined by the results of the FIBA Women’s Continental Cups in 2025, in the World Cup qualifiers.

The 24 teams will then be drawn into four tournaments with six teams each. A total of 16 nations, including host Germany, will then advance to the global showpiece set on Sept. 4 to 13 in Berlin.