GILAS Pilipinas begins the second round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers against Jordan, a team that had had its share of battles with our national squad in the past, some of which with a lot at stake.
Both teams will battle again on August 28 at the Mall of Asia Arena where they will look to boost their quest to make it to Qatar for the World Cup.
Before their clash, we look back at some of the notable games between the two nations during the Gilas Pilipinas/Smart Gilas era. And if these matches are any indication, their upcoming game could be a close one.
2014: RDO clutch for Gilas
Gilas Pilipinas went up against Jordan in the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup (formerly known as the FIBA Asia Challenge and Stankovic Cup) in Wuhan, China in a game that the Philippines needed in order to sweep the group stage.
The game came down the wire, with Ranidel de Ocampo breaking the 68-68 tie with 35.2 seconds left. Gilas breathed a sigh of relief when Wesam Al-Sous missed a wide-open three from the left corner to survive the game and win the match, 71-70.
The Philippines went up against former Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman, who handled Jordan at this time.
2011: Jordan hurts Gilas’ Olympic bid
Speaking of Toroman, the Serbian coach was in the final stretch of the Smart Gilas program when the team competed in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship. Under the program, a pool of players were kept for three years in a bid to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.
Notable players in the Smart Gilas program included Marcus Douthit, Mark Barroca, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Tiu, Chris Lutz, and Jvee Casio, but the FIBA Asia team was reinforced by PBA players De Ocampo, Jimmy Alapag, Asi Taulava, and Kelly Williams.
Smart Gilas got its quest off to a high note with a 72-64 win over Jordan where the team got back from an 18-point deficit in the group stage. The Nationals later reached the semifinals where they arranged a rematch with Jordan.
By virtue of its come-from-behind win in the group stage, Smart Gilas had the psychological advantage with the national squad one win away from a berth in London. But Jordan broke the hearts of the Philippines with a 75-61 win with naturalized player Rasheim Wright scoring 24 points to reach the finals.
Though they still had one more shot at London 2012, the loss to Jordan became the turning point. Eventually, the Olympic dream wasn’t to be for Smart Gilas as they fell to South Korea 70-68, in the bronze medal game and a winner-take-all game for a ticket to London.
2023: Gilas wins Asiad gold at Jordan’s expense
After a solid start with victories over Bahrain and Thailand in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Gilas Pilipinas entered its final group stage game against Jordan with an eye of booking an outright quarterfinal berth.
Instead, Gilas Pilipinas was relegated to a play-in game for the final eight when it lost to Jordan, 87-62, led by naturalized player and TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
The Philippines beat Qatar, 80-41, to make it to the quarterfinals, but the Jordan loss put Gilas Pilipinas in the same bracket along with host country China in the knockout stage.
Eventually, Gilas Pilipinas overcame the odds behind the heroics of Justin Brownlee to beat China, 77-76, setting up a rematch with Jordan for the gold medal.
In another high-stakes game similar to the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship, Gilas Pilipinas got the job done this time, using the momentum of winning against China to beat the RHJ-led Jordan this time, 70-60, to claim the country’s first Asian Games gold in men’s basketball in 61 years.
Brownlee led the hastily-formed Gilas Pilipinas team with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, and Ange Kouame finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
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