Games Sunday
(Mall of Asia Arena)
2 p.m. – Australia vs Syria
5 p.m. – New Zealand vs Jordan
8 p.m. – Gilas Pilipinas vs Iran
By REYNALD MAGALLON
The joy over Gilas Pilipinas’ thrilling 82-81 overtime victory over Jordan was understandable but national team head coach Tim Cone stressed that his squad cannot drown in the euphoria as they are only halfway through the task at hand.
Gilas is bracing for another tough battle ahead as it takes on Iran in a bid to sweep the fourth window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, Aug. 30.
The Nationals are hoping to ride the momentum from the big win over the Falcons and carry it over against Team Melli in their clash scheduled at 8 p.m.
It will come after the first two games of the Sunday tripleheader with Australia battling Syria in the first game at 2 p.m. and New Zealand locking horns with Jordan in the second game at 5 p.m.
While the win against Jordan was a huge morale-boosting win especially playing without Justin Brownlee, Cone was quick to remind his team that its World Cup fates remain hanging in the balance.
“I just keep telling the guys. The job is only half done,” said Cone after Gilas snapped a four-game slide in the qualifiers to improve to a 3-4 record. Iran, on the other hand, tied with New Zealand and Jordan from second to fourth spots with 5-2 slates.
“We came in here with two do or die games. We got one done now we got to get another one against a really really tough Iran team who is just coming off a tough loss to New Zealand,” added the veteran coach.
According to his staff, Gilas needs at least five wins in the second round of the qualifiers to get a legitimate shot at claiming the World Cup ticket, making the game against Iran an all-important win.
And to do that, the Nationals must show no letup, especially against an Iranian squad surely eager to bounce back from its own, 93-95 overtime defeat against the Tall Blacks.
“This is like just halftime for us. We haven’t won anything. We have to win the whole game. It’s just halftime. We got another game to play,” Cone stressed.
The veteran mentor will be once again banking on Kai Sotto to lead the way for Gilas alongside Kevin Quiambao and Dwight Ramos. CJ Perez should also be brimming with confidence following his breakout performance where he led Gilas’ assault in the fourth quarter and overtime.
A marked man surely against Gilas is Iran forward and NBA Summer League campaigner Mohammad Amini who finished with 16 points in the loss to New Zealand. Matin Aghajanpour also had 19 in the last game.
Meantime, New York Knicks guard and former Gilas Pilipinas star Jordan Clarkson led the celebrations online.
“Kai Sotto!!!!,” posted Clarkson on X as the name of the 7-foot-3 big man along with ‘CJ Perez’, ‘Gilas’, and ‘Kevin Quiambao’ trended after the overtime victory that revived Gilas’ bid for the World Cup spot.
“Kai Sotto ginulat ang mundo,” one X user wrote.
“Kai Sotto you are insane for this!!! Congrats Gilas for the W! What a nerve-wracking game it is,” another one added, sharing Sotto’s game-preserving block.
One fan, meanwhile, tipped his hats off to Gilas’ heroes for this game but is also urging them to improve their free-throw shooting. The Nationals only shot 14-of-23 from the charity stripe.
