GILAS Pilipinas looks to stay alive in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 in the final game of the group stage against Iraq.
Here are some of the keys to victory for the Philippines in this preview.
IRAQ VS. PHILIPPINES
When: Saturday, August 9. 11 a.m. Jeddah time / Saturday, August 9. 4 p.m. Manila time
Where: King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Do-or-die for Gilas
The Philippines and Iraq go up against each other in a must-win for both sides. The winner will remain alive and kicking, advancing to the qualification to the quarterfinals.
The loser, conversely, will have to bid farewell.
Gilas hasn’t won a game in the tournament after a 94-86 defeat to New Zealand to go down 0-2 last Thursday. Iraq, ranked No. 92 in the world, is also winless, bowing Chinese Taipei, 87-60.
Iraq can shoot
The past two defeats saw Gilas giving up a lot of three-pointers against their opponents.
READ: Cone admits Gilas got burned by foe's hot shooting for second straight game
And if Gilas isn’t careful, that could also happen against Iraq.
Although it shot only 3-of-21 from threes against Chinese Taipei in their last game, the Iraqis shot 12-of-27 from outside against New Zealand, the reason why they kept themselves in the game until the fourth quarter when the Tall Blacks pulled away.
Players to watch
Diar Ahmed Abdul Allah Abdul Allah was among the Iraq players who hit three-point shots against New Zealand, as he went 5-of-6 to finish with 19 points. He, however, was scoreless against Chinese Taipei.
Abdullah Hayder Alibraheemi is their top scorer with an average of 13.5 points. Demario Mayfield is their naturalized player who plays in the Italy professional league, and is averaging 10 points.
Gilas must dominate the boards
In the team’s loss to New Zealand, Gilas was outrebounded, 41-33. Iraq has two 6-foot-10 players in Ihab Al-Zuhairi and Mohammed Al-Khafaji, with both averaging seven per contest.
June Mar Fajardo and AJ Edu must set the tone on the boards for the Philippines in the game against Iraq.
More production from other Gilas players
Justin Brownlee led Gilas with 37 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field against New Zealand, while also hitting five three-point shots. Unfortunately, the naturalized player had little support, with Dwight Ramos getting the bulk of the locals’ points with 17 against the Tall Blacks. Gilas is only averaging 13.5 bench points in the tournament.
Among the players who have been struggling is Calvin Oftana, who is only averaging 3.0 points and shooting just 15-percent from the field.
Speaking of which, Gilas, as a team, must also start making more threes against Iraq. So far in the tournament, the Nationals are shooting just 30-percent, or 17-of-56 from three-point range.
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