Some familiar friends (and foes) are in the pipeline for Gilas Pilipinas in their quest to qualify for the FIBA World Cup 2027. Check out the complete schedule, format and analysis.
FIBA recently held the official draw for the regional qualifiers of the FIBA World Cup 2027 to be hosted by Qatar, and from the looks of things, Gilas Pilipinas will have their hands full as they seek to book their World Cup slot for a fourth straight time.
When the dust had settled, Gilas found itself drawn into Group A with powerhouses Australia and New Zealand and lightweight Guam in the first round. Here’s what needs to happen for Gilas to advance to the second round, where seven World Cup berths are at stake.
The format
There are 16 teams vying in the first round of the Asian Qualifiers, which kick off in late November and stretch up to July 2026. Qualifying windows will be held in November 2025, February 2026 and July 2026. The complete schedule can be found here.
The 16 teams are divided into four groups, the division of which can seen below:
In each group, teams play each other twice in a home-and-away format. The top three teams in each group will advance to the second round where they will be divided into Groups E and F. The top three from Groups A and C will be in Group E, while the top three from Groups B and D will comprise Group F.
Teams will carry over their win-loss record into the second round and will play the three other teams that they didn’t face in the first round twice in another home-and-away format.
So for example, if Gilas finishes in the top three of Group A, they will play the top three in Group C – three among Iran, Jordan, Syria and Iraq – twice. That’s a total of 12 games across two rounds.
The top three per group in the second round plus the best fourth-placed team will book their tickets to Doha.
Sizing up the opposition
Let’s get real: Gilas is in a tough bracket with Australia (7th in the FIBA rankings) and New Zealand (22nd), both of which are ranked higher than Gilas’ 34th place ranking. Guam (88th) is the lowest ranked in the group.
Australia, of course, is the best team in the group, and can be expected to sweep. There will also be a déjà vu moment here when the Boomers play Gilas Pilipinas in Manila next year. Anyone care to remember what happened on July 2, 2018 at the Philippine Arena?
New Zealand is perhaps the most familiar to Gilas given that both sides recently faced each other twice for the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers. In the first of those games, at the Mall of Asia Arena in November 2024, Gilas notched the Philippines’ first-ever win over New Zealand in an official FIBA game. The Tall Blacks, though, returned the favor a few weeks later, and still hold a massive edge in head-to-head history.
Guam had to go through a qualifying round to make it to make it this far, and are not expected to cause too much trouble to the three other teams. However, there could be one familiar face on the Guam roster when Gilas faces them as San Miguel Beermen guard Jericho Cruz is expected to suit up for Guam once more.
In the second round, Iran and Jordan are expected to advance out of Group C, with the third slot going to either Syria or Iraq. Both teams present tough outings for Gilas Pilipinas, with Iran ranked 28th and Jordan just a notch below Gilas at 35th. Gilas beat both teams in the last Asian Games en route to the historic gold medal, but eligibility rules were different then and Gilas had the luxury of fielding two naturalized players.
Speaking of naturalized players, Jordan will likely tap another familiar face in Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who is fresh off another championship and Best Import award with the TNT Tropang 5G. Gilas will likely need to beat one of Iran or Jordan twice and go at least 1-1 with the other to secure a top three finish in the group. It goes without saying that they need to also sweep either Syria or Iraq.
The outlook for Gilas Pilipinas
Before the qualifiers start, all 16 teams will have a go at each other in the FIBA Asia Cup in August in Saudi Arabia. This should be a good gauge for everyone to see where they are before the qualifiers reel off three months later.
Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone has stuck by his approach of keeping a pool of players intact, adding a piece or two from time to time if some are injured. For the FIBA Asia Cup, center Kai Sotto is definitely out as he continues to recover from an ACL tear, while naturalized player Justin Brownlee’s status is still officially unknown following an adverse finding in his urine sample from February.
Looking ahead, Sotto very likely still won’t be available for the November window and is iffy for the February window, depending on his rehabilitation progress. This is crucial because Gilas went 0-2 without Kai in the last FIBA Asia Cup window last February, after he was one of the best players on the court in the win against New Zealand. In November and December, Gilas faces New Zealand twice.
Cone, though, is taking a rational, measured approach to it, even as he hopes to get Sotto back sooner rather than later.
“First off, we had no control over what group we were drawn into, so it’s not something we’re going to regret or worry about,” he told The GAME in a text message. “Secondly, as the qualifiers progress, we’re going to end up playing nearly all the teams in the other group, so it all equals out. Bottom line, we have to be in the top seven in Asia to qualify. Tough, but doable. Let’s just get Kai back and healthy.”
SBP president Al Panlilio, in a separate message to The GAME, agreed with Cone.
“Tough group but at one point you would have to go through the tough teams anyway. That’s the journey to the World Cup. It’s doable.”
Images from Kieran Punay.