Why is the World Cup qualifiers crucial for Gilas’ long-term goals?

MANILA, Philippines – Tim Cone made it clear from the time that he officially took over the coaching mantle for Gilas Pilipinas that the ultimate goal of the team is to reach the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

But to do that, the Nationals must first qualify for the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Qatar.

So it is imperative that the Philippines does well in the Asian Qualifiers, where it is bunched in a dangerous Group A that includes world No. 6 Australia, No. 25 New Zealand, and No. 81 Guam.

“If we don’t make the World Cup, we can’t make the Olympics,” Cone told reporters on Monday, November 24.

The Filipinos open their campaign with back-to-back matches against Guam on Friday, November 28, and on Monday, December 1, with Cone calling them the “most important games we play in the whole qualifiers.”

After all, a sweep of Guam gives Gilas a promising chance to secure a top-three finish in the group and advance to the second round of the qualifiers, especially since it will be a tall order pulling off wins over Australia and New Zealand in the upcoming windows.

The Philippines has beaten Australia and New Zealand just once each in FIBA play — its records against the two squads both standing at 1-6.

“If we don’t win these two games [against Guam], all of our goals are dashed. That’s how crucial these two games are,” said Cone.

The qualified squads from Group A will then join their counterparts from Group C that consists of Iran, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq to form Group E for second-round action, with all results from the first round carried over.

Group B (Japan, China, South Korea, and Chinese Taipei) and Group D (Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, India, and Qatar) will cross over in Group F.

Only the top three from Group E and Group F plus the best fourth-placed squad — a total of seven teams — will earn World Cup berths. Host Qatar is already qualified.

“You look at some of the teams out there, you can count maybe nine teams, any of them, can make the World Cup,” said Cone.

“You’re talking about Lebanon, you’re talking about Jordan in the Middle East, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Australia, and we’re not even talking about Chinese Taipei, who have beaten us, and Saudi Arabia, who gave us such a hard time in the Asia Cup. But there are nine teams, including us, that are going for those seven spots.”

“If we don’t get a good record and it’s carry over, then we can’t get to that top seven, which brings us back to this round. If we can’t get Guam and we have to play New Zealand and Australia, then we can’t get to that third spot, even advance to the second round.”

To get the job done against Guam, the Philippines is going all in as it kept its lineup intact and bolstered it with the addition of 6-foot-10 big man Quentin Millora-Brown.

Still sidelined after a suffering a knee injury earlier this year, 7-foot-3 star Kai Sotto eyes a January return, just in time for the February-March window that will see Gilas host New Zealand and Australia. – Rappler.com