WITH THE 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers fast approaching on the calendar, Gilas Pilipinas has officially unveiled its expanded pool for the tournament, bringing in familiar names to the national squad.
On Wednesday, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) quickly took to their official social media pages to announce that newly classified local player Quentin Millora-Brown is now officially joining the national team.
“We’re excited to have QMB in the pool,” SBP President Al Panlilio said. “We got a close-up look at what he can do when he played for the Macau Black Bears and talking to coach Tim, he’s certain a guy like QMB can shine in the system that we have.”
According to earlier reports and interviews, Gilas head coach Tim Cone had already hinted that the 6-foot-10 former UP Fighting Maroon would be suiting up for the national team in the upcoming November window against Guam.
Meanwhile, Kai Sotto was officially added back into the pool after missing the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup due to an ACL tear he sustained while playing with his mother team in the Japan B.League last January.
Bolstering the already young-laden Gilas pool further is Barangay Ginebra guard RJ Abarrientos, alongside another big man, naturalized reserve center Ange Kouame — both of whom previously played for the national team in past competitions.
Although Kouame and Abarrientos have not yet played directly under Cone in Gilas games, they have joined multiple practices when the team lacked enough players, giving them a solid working knowledge of the current system.
The current pool also includes the 12 players who played in Asia Cup: namely Justin Brownlee, AJ Edu, Dwight Ramos, Kevin Quiambao, Carl Tamayo, June Mar Fajardo, Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome, CJ Perez, Calvin Oftana, Japeth Aguilar, and Jamie Malonzo.
“Continuity is still the main priority of coach Tim Cone but we saw it fit to add a couple of pieces to the training pool,” Panlilio explained on the statement.
“Obviously, Justin will still be the top choice in terms of having a naturalized player in the lineup but we need to take advantage of actually having multiple naturalized players,” he added.
Now, the main goal for Gilas Pilipinas is to improve their current world ranking, after slipping from No. 34 in March to No. 37, following a string of continuous losses from the Asia Cup qualifiers and into the Asian meet itself.
However, the Nationals are expected to face a daunting task as they prepare to battle tough Oceania teams — Australia, New Zealand, and Guam — in the upcoming windows of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
