GILAS Pilipinas resumes its campaign in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers this week when it goes up against New Zealand on Thursday and Hong Kong on Sunday at home at the Mall of Asia Arena. But what does the games actually mean for the Philippine team? Let’s find out.
Where Gilas stands
The Philippines is currently in a share of first place in Group B with New Zealand with a 2-0 win-loss record. For classification purposes though, Gilas is at No. 1 due to its superior point differential after lopsided wins over Hong Kong, 94-64, and Chinese Taipei, 106-53, during the February window.
How teams can clinch slots in FIBA Asia Cup
During the qualifiers, the top two teams in each of the six groups will gain outright seats in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 to be played from August 5 to 17 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The six third-placers will still have a shot at the final four seats and will go through another tournament to decide which will advance.
How can Gilas seal a ticket to the FIBA Asia Cup in this window
The November window will actually see teams capturing berths in the FIBA Asia Cup, and that will include the Philippines. FIBA has released the scenarios and one way of doing such is by sweeping its assignments over New Zealand and Hong Kong at home at the Mall of Asia Arena, sending them to a 4-0 win-loss record at the end of the window.
If it loses to the Tall Blacks, can Gilas still secure a FIBA Asia Cup slot in this window?
Yes. Gilas Pilipinas can still seal a place in the FIBA Asia Cup in this Window 2 of the qualifiers. According to FIBA, Gilas must win over Hong Kong, and New Zealand must beat Chinese Taipei in its next game on Monday. That will result in New Zealand being at first with a 4-0 win-loss record followed by the Philippines with a 3-1 slate, already two games ahead of either Hong Kong or Chinese Taipei in second place.
Win as many as possible
Though Gilas already has a chance at securing a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Al Panlilio, during a recent press conference, stressed the importance of winning as many games as possible even until the February 2025 window of the qualifiers as it enhances the chances of not facing the strong teams in the group stage.
“So far, we have been undefeated but we want to make sure that we continue to win as many games as we can. Kasi the more wins you have, the better seeding you have coming into the tournament. And of course, you do want to meet the less stronger teams at the start of the tournament, and you only meet with the stronger teams, hopefully, at the tail end of the tournament,” Panlilio explained.
After this window, Gilas will play away games against Chinese Taipei on February 20 and New Zealand on February 23.
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