Gilas Pilipinas will enter the second round of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers on a four-game losing streak after falling to Australia, 92-49, on Monday evening (Manila time) at RAC Arena in Perth.
The Philippines has yet to register a victory since sweeping its home-and-away assignments in Window 1.
Australia completed a perfect sweep of Pool A, while the New Zealand Tall Blacks secured second place with a 4-2 record after routing eliminated Guam, 129-75, earlier in the day.
Despite the setback, Gilas will have an opportunity to regroup in Window 4, where it will host Jordan on August 27 and Iran on August 31 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Pasay City will host all Pool E games in Window 4.
On August 27, Syria will take on Australia, while Iran faces New Zealand. Three days later, Australia will battle Jordan, with New Zealand meeting Syria.
“That next window will be tough. My understanding is they’re neutral sites, and we’re looking forward to the next step of the challenge,” said Boomers head coach Tim Caporn. “We took care of business here, and now we move on.”
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Playing without Justin Brownlee, who remains sidelined with multiple knee and leg injuries, Gilas struggled from the opening tip as the Boomers raced to a 24-8 lead. The Philippines had difficulty breaking Australia’s relentless full-court pressure, committing seven turnovers in the first 10 minutes while repeatedly failing to get the ball across halfcourt.
Kevin Quiambao scored the Philippines’ first six points, but Australia still built a commanding 33-14 advantage by the end of the opening quarter.
“Well, it wasn’t a lot of fun, that’s for sure. It was a tough, tough beating that we took out there tonight. And the problem is that this is the one we’re going to remember,” said Gilas head coach Tim Cone.
“We’ve had a really outstanding trip. We’ve worked really hard through that trip, went through a tough game against New Zealand in double overtime, then lost our best player, and had to come here and play against these guys. They really were superior athletes,” he added.
After being held scoreless in the loss to New Zealand last Friday, June Mar Fajardo sparked Gilas in the second period. The multi-time PBA Most Valuable Player scored six points and anchored a defensive effort that limited Australia to just eight points in the quarter, allowing the Philippines to trim the deficit to 41-27 at halftime.
“We couldn’t get into our offense. They did such a great job of defending. We had one good quarter, the second quarter, but we really had trouble just getting the ball past half court and getting into something. Credit to their defense. That keyed their transition game, their ability to hit three-point shots, and they just kind of snowballed on us. And that was the result,” Cone added.
Any hopes of a comeback quickly disappeared in the third quarter as Cleveland Cavaliers guard Tyrese Proctor caught fire, pouring in 11 points to help Australia blow the game wide open.
“I just love how our players responded at halftime. We got back to moving the ball offensively and playing our game,” Caporn said as the Boomers stretched the lead to as many as 43 points.
Making matters worse for Gilas, the team was reduced to just 10 healthy players after Michael Phillips suffered a right shin injury while battling for a rebound with 7:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Juan Gomez de Liaño also hurt his left ankle while contesting a three-point attempt by Angus Glover with 3:23 left in the third period, but he was able to return with four minutes remaining in the game.
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Every Australian player scored in the contest, with Bryce Cotton leading the way with 21 points.
Proctor finished with 16 points, Mitch Creek added 13 points and seven rebounds, while Josh Bannan posted an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Australia dominated the Philippines on both ends of the floor, shooting 56.8 percent from the field while owning a 53-44 rebounding advantage. Gilas, meanwhile, managed just 35 percent shooting from the field.
No Gilas player reached double figures in scoring, with Dwight Ramos leading the team with nine points on 4-of-16 shooting. Fajardo and Quiambao scored eight points each, while Gomez de Liaño chipped in seven.
Phillips was one of the few bright spots for the Philippines before his injury, finishing with six points, a game-high 14 rebounds, and one block.
The Scores:
Australia 92 – Cotton 21, Proctor 16, Creek 13, Bannan 11, Pinder 9, Glover 4, Armstrong 4, McVeigh 3, Condon 3, Smith 3, Okwera 3, Lo Buluk 2.
Philippines 49 – Ramos 9, Quiambao 8, Fajardo 8, Gomez de Liaño 7, Phillips 6, Edu 5, Rosario 4, Tamayo 2, Newsome 0, Abarrientos 0, Baltazar 0.
Quarterscores: 33-14, 41-27, 63-37, 92-49.
