THIS evening, the Gilas Pilipinas will face New Zealand with a home court advantage at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. Both share an identical 2-0 win-loss record, in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
As expected, given Gilas head coach Tim Cone’s commitment to continuity, the national team’s Final 12 roster versus the Tall Blacks this evening, at 7:30 PM, remained unchanged.
Gilas’ Final 12
Naturalized player Justin Brownlee will once again lead Gilas Pilipinas in their encounter against the Tall Blacks, since the squad has mostly maintained the same lineup as in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia.
The national team’s lineup includes PBA talents June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez from San Miguel, Calvin Oftana from TNT, Chris Newsome from Meralco, and Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson from Ginebra.
Meanwhile, Japan B.League stars Kai Sotto and Dwight Ramos, as well as KBL player Carl Tamayo, lead the younger side of the lineup, which also includes DLSU Green Archers’ own UAAP MVP Kevin Quiambao and Mason Amos.
Thompson is the lone addition to the OQT lineup, having missed the event due to injury. Meanwhile, injured players AJ Edu and Jamie Malonzo, as well as naturalized player Ange Kouame, missed the Final 12.
Welcome to the team!
Aside from the Gilas Final 12, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) has announced that Alfrancis Chua will now act as program director and squad manager for the national youth and men’s teams.
“I am very happy that Alfrancis is back with Gilas. I work well with him and our only objective is to elevate Philippine basketball,” SBP president Al Panlilio said in a statement.
“The SBP also extends our appreciation to SMC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Ang for supporting this decision to have Alfrancis help the program again,” he added.
Chua has helped Ginebra, San Miguel Beermen, and Magnolia win a total of 15 PBA championships and was named PBA Executive of the Year in 2018, 2021, and 2024.
He was Gilas Pilipinas’ team manager when the men’s team won gold at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, breaking a six-decade drought in the event.
“I’m happy I’ll be able to help Gilas in this capacity. I thank boss RSA for giving me his blessing in taking this new role and I look forward to working with coach Tim and LA (Tenorio),” said Chua.
A must-win game
This evening’s game is a must-win for the Philippine squad, not only because they want to end their four-game losing run against the world’s 22nd-ranked team, but also because it will help them qualify.
A win would bring the Philippines closer to qualifying for the FIBA Asia Cup 2025, which will be hosted in August in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, if they also beat Hong Kong on Sunday, Nov. 24, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
If they lose tonight, Gilas can still qualify if they beat Hong Kong and New Zealand defeats Chinese Taipei on Monday. Cone, Gilas’ head coach, expects a motivated set of players to play.
“I don’t think they’ve seen a team like the team we’re assembling. I think we got a shot at beating them,” he said. “We want to protect our home court, and we want to show ourselves to the Gilas fans in the country.”
Gilas Pilipinas, along with newly appointed Chua, will compete in the second round of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, against New Zealand today and Hong Kong on November 24 at the MOA Arena.
