GILAS Pilipinas will know who its opponents will be in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 group stage when the tournament holds its draw ceremony on Tuesday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
All 16 teams have been seeded into four pots based on FIBA rankings with the Philippines facing a team in each of the pots. Being the host, Saudi Arabia chose to be in Pot 1.
The draw ceremony is slated for Tuesday, 10 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time (6 p.m. Philippine Standard Time).
Based from the draw seedings, the Filipinos will be playing a game against either Australia, Japan, New Zealand, or Saudi Arabia from Pot 1; Jordan, Korea, Syria, or Chinese Taipei from Pot 3; and India, Qatar, Guam, or Iraq from Pot 4.
Gilas is in Pot 2 with Iran, Lebanon, and China, which means they won’t be facing those three nations unless at least one of them advance to the playoff round.
Familiar faces await Gilas
Among the Filipinos' possible opponents in the group stage include New Zealand, a team they split their two meetings with in the qualifiers - beating the Tall Blacks, 93-89, last November at the Mall of Asia Arena, but losing to them, 87-70, in Auckland last February.
Gilas may also be in line to face Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Jordan from Pot 3 in a rematch of the 19th Asian Games gold medal match. The TNT import is eligible to play in the competition being a naturalized player of Jordan.
Another Pot 3 squad in Chinese Taipei is one more potential opponent in the group stage, a team that defeated the Philippines, 91-84, in the February window led by the likes of Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga.
There is also a possibility of Gilas battling Jericho Cruz in the group stage, as the San Miguel player has been suiting up for Guam in FIBA competitions. Guam is in Pot 4 after reaching the Asia Cup through a qualifying tournament last March.
Australia and Japan are also in the radar, with the former being the defending champion of the Asia Cup and the latter having ousted the Philippines, 102-81, during the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 qualifying game to the quarterfinals.
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