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With very little margin for error, Gilas Pilipinas battles tough Middle East teams in the second round of Asian Qualifiers as it seeks to reach the FIBA World Cup for the fourth straight time
MANILA, Philippines – When Tim Cone officially took over as Gilas Pilipinas’ head coach in 2024, he made it clear that the ultimate goal was for the team to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in the United States.
And the most straightforward path to that objective was to finish as the best Asian team in the 2027 FIBA World Cup to be hosted by Qatar.
But making the World Cup for the fourth straight time alone takes an uphill climb after the Philippines suffered a pair of crushing losses to end the first round of the Asian Qualifiers.
What happened?
Although already through to the second round, the Nationals missed out on improving their World Cup chances following defeats to New Zealand and Australia in the third window as they finished third in Group A with a 2-4 record.
Before the third window kicked off, Cone said their target was to win at least one game to give themselves “more margin of error” in the next round.
Gilas Pilipinas nearly accomplished that by pushing New Zealand to the limit before ultimately absorbing a heartbreaking 106-102 double-overtime loss in Auckland on July 3.
Things then went from bad to worse when naturalized star Justin Brownlee got ruled out against Australia due to a string of injuries — his absence was severely felt as the Boomers coasted to a 92-49 blowout to hand the Filipinos their most lopsided defeat of this Asian Qualifiers.
Australia topped Group A with a perfect 6-0 record, followed by New Zealand in second with a 4-2 card. Guam, which the Philippines dominated in the opening window for its lone victories, crashed out of contention without a win.
Why do those games matter?
All results from the first round are carried over as the 12 advancing teams — the top three from each of the four groups — are split into two groups of six for the second round.
The Philippines, together with Australia and New Zealand, will cross over with Group C squads Iran (5-1), Jordan (5-1), and Syria (2-4) in a newly formed Group E to play another set of six games.
As things stand, Gilas Pilipinas sits fifth in Group E.
That standing spells trouble for the Filipinos as only the top three from each of the two groups and the best fourth-placed team will secure World Cup berths.
Sure, the Philippines has gotten over the hump after facing Australia and New Zealand, ranked first and third, respectively, in the Asia-Pacific zone, but beating Iran, Jordan, and Syria is no walk in the park.
Historically, Gilas Pilipinas has struggled against Iran as it holds a 1-6 record in its FIBA battles.
The last time the Philippines beat Iran came in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship, where the Nationals fell short of the title after losing to China in the final.
Chances are more optimistic against Jordan, a team that Gilas Pilipinas has beaten five times out of their nine FIBA encounters. Jordan, though, won its most recent meeting with the Philippines, hacking out a 91-90 victory in the Asian Qualifiers for the 2023 World Cup.
The same goes against Syria, which is 1-2 versus the Philippines in FIBA play.
As Gilas Pilipinas turns its focus to the second round, the humiliating loss at the hands of Australia serves as a compelling reminder to be better.
“We just got to keep working and remember this game when we go forward — remember the feeling of getting embarrassed like this and work hard and come back,” said veteran guard Dwight Ramos.
The Philippines opens the second round against Jordan on August 28 and Iran on August 30 as it hosts all Group E squads in the fourth window.
How about Brownlee?
Winning gets more complicated for the Philippines as Brownlee is expected to be sidelined for multiple weeks due to his injuries.
According to the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the 38-year-old is nursing a hamstring strain and peroneal tendinopathy on his right leg, and left knee swelling and cartilage defects.
It is uncertain whether Brownlee would be ready for the fourth window, and the fact that Barangay Ginebra, his mother team in the PBA, has already tapped a temporary import for the Governors’ Cup goes to show that he would be out for a significant amount of time.
Except for a few times that saw teams contain him offensively, Brownlee has been steady for Gilas Pilipinas as he averages 20.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in FIBA games.
If the team opts to go a different direction, the Philippines has three other active naturalized players in NBA champion Jordan Clarkson, Ange Kouame, and Malick Diouf.
Gilas Pilipinas also hopes to bring in Bennie Boatwright as soon as possible, with his naturalization approved by the Senate on third and final reading in June. – Rappler.com
