Gilas Pilipinas' Asian Games Defeat: Sen. Bong Go Reacts

NAGOYA, Japan – The sting of Gilas Pilipinas’ collapse to China almost kept Sen. Bong Go from boarding his flight.

A self-confessed basketball diehard, Go admitted he seriously considered scrapping his trip to this bustling Japanese city after watching the national men’s team get blown out, 105-61, in the preliminary round of the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 — a defeat that ended the country’s reign in the continental showcase.

They were supposed to lose by less than 37, he said. Instead, it ballooned to 44.

“We were watching at the Senate and cheering for Gilas not to lose by 37 points,” Go recalled during a dinner on Saturday, Sept. 19, hosted by Philippine Sports Commission chairman Pato Gregorio. The optimism did not last. “Like every Filipino fan, I was really disappointed. Imagine, losing by 44 points.”

Gilas, bringing what officials have described as its “second team,” never truly threatened China. The 61-105 beating did more than knock them out early; it punctured the aura of a program that had grown used to standing tall in Asia.

Go felt the blow like every supporter back home. But he came anyway.

He arrived in Nagoya on Wednesday, Sept. 16, refusing to let one crushing loss keep him from doing what he has increasingly embraced as part of his public role: showing up for Filipino athletes. The next day, he was already in the stands, lending his voice to Alas Pilipinas Women in their game against Kazakhstan.

The mood around the delegation has shifted from celebration to soul-searching. Go made it clear that once the Games are over, there will be hard questions for Gilas and a broader review of how the country fared on the Asian stage.

“Need to know why this happened,” he said, bluntly.

For now, the senator leans into the part he says he enjoys most — one of the country’s loudest cheerleaders, present in victory or in a 44-point defeat, demanding that the answers eventually match the passion of the fans who never stopped watching.