IT certainly was far from the ideal FIBA Asia Cup campaign for Gilas Pilipinas, a tournament the team would rather soon forget.
The boys of coach Tim Cone bowed out of the continental basketball meet early, no thanks to an impeccable Australia side which dealt the squad a sound beating in the quarterfinals, 84-60, and ended an up-and-down tournament which started with two heartbreaking defeats in winnable games.
READ: See what's next for Gilas Pilipinas after FIBA Asia Cup 2025 exit
While the finicky basketball fanbase of this country certainly had a lot of things to say after that early elimination, there are still some bright spots that fans can cling onto as the team turns its focus on the World Cup qualifiers
And because a lot of critical things have already been said, and discussed repeatedly, here we focus on the positives – the little bright spots of this tournament.
Kevin Quiambao emerges as key piece to future Gilas squads
Fans have already seen ‘KQ’ dominate in the collegiate league – evident in his two UAAP MVPs and a league championship. While his team didn’t win a lot in the KBL, he was certainly one of the more impressive Asian imports in the league – translating that dominance in the UAAP to the pros.
In the 2025 edition of the FIBA Asia Cup, Quiambao proved that his game fits with the national team as well.
While this isn’t the first time Quiambao showed flashes of brilliance with Gilas, it seems like he now has a defined role for this squad and future iterations of the team – a bucket getter.
Quiambao finished with an average of 12 points per game on 55 percent shooting, while also making a healthy 44 percent clip from downtown – on 5.4 attempts per game. This includes a 17-point night against Australia where he drained five of his eight three-pointers.
Based on this performance, Quiambao will definitely see more minutes come the next game.
AJ Edu-Kai Sotto partnership will be a problem for opponents in the future
There are certainly a lot of things to work on for AJ Edu, but the positives that he brings to the court at this point already makes him a valuable piece for Gilas.
Edu has been a force defensively, finishing with 1.6 blocks, nearly a steal per game and nine rebounds overall, embracing the role as Gilas’ defensive anchor with his length, ability to move his feet, and impeccable timing.
There are certainly things to work on – finishing for one, as he made only 33 percent of his shots in the field overall – but that’s something that’s easily fixable for him.
While Edu can man the five comfortably, his versatility on both ends can make him a suitable four guy. When Kai Sotto returns to be the team’s last line of defense and Edu gets relieved of being the team’s primary help defender – this team’s defense will be a whole lot better.
Dwight Ramos starting to be the face of this Gilas side
Justin Brownlee still topped the team’s scoring at 20.6 points per game but not far behind him is Dwight Ramos who finished with 16.8 a night, playing the most minutes for the team with 35.2 minutes a game.
Ramos also added six rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals while also being one of the team’s primary defensive players on the perimeter – often given the task of guarding the best wing player on the other end.
READ Dwight admits Gilas needs to defend three-point shooters better
Ramos is only 26. At the very least, we get two more Olympic cycles from the B.League star in his prime as he’s set to lead this team’s next generation alongside Sotto, Edu, Quiambao and Carl Tamayo.
Scottie can still be a reliable stabilizer for Gilas today, and in the future
Scottie Thompson was one of the target of critics online for being supposedly pang-’PBA lang’ among a handful of PBA stars playing in the tournament.
Is he really?
While we may want Scottie to shape up on his shooting so he can get more aggressive on offense, he’s certainly been steady for coach Tim Cone in this tournament.
Thompson was the team’s stabilizer, averaging 4.4 assists while only turning the ball over 1.4 times as the team’s primary ball hander.
He also brought his energy and tenacity on crashing the boards with this team, averaging six boards while having that one crucial block in the endgame against Saudi Arabia to save the day for Gilas.
Now whether he’s a starting guard material from here on out, given his holes on the offensive end, is certainly debatable, but his value to the national team can’t be questioned at all.
The ‘migration’ working for Gilas
Aside from being the more consistent guys in the team, what does Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu and Kevin Quiambao have in common?
They’re all playing abroad.
While fans will not be seeing these guys play live in domestic leagues anytime soon, the payoff has been so worth it for Gilas as the three looked comfortable and confident playing against bigger, more athletic opponents.
Now this isn’t to hit on the capabilities of our pro league. Scottie Thompson and Justin Brownlee have also been steady, and even Japeth Aguilar in the small minutes he played looked comfortable out there.
But the point is, giving the young players options and more exposure against a bevy of competition abroad will only benefit the Gilas program in the longterm.
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