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 win since sweeping both 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 a chance 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 serve as the host of all Pool E games in Window 4.
On August 27, Syria will face Australia while Iran takes on New Zealand. Three days later, Australia will battle Jordan, with New Zealand squaring off against Syria.
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. Kevin Quiambao accounted for the Philippines’ first six points, but Australia still built a commanding 33-14 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
After being held scoreless in the loss to New Zealand last Friday, June Mar Fajardo sparked Gilas in the second period. The multiple-time PBA Most Valuable Player scored six points and helped anchor a defensive effort that limited Australia to just eight points in the quarter, trimming the deficit to 41-27 at halftime.
Any hopes of a comeback quickly faded in the third quarter as Cleveland Cavaliers guard Tyrese Proctor caught fire, pouring in 11 points to help Australia blow the game wide open.
Making matters worse for Gilas, the team was reduced to just 10 healthy bodies 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 hurt his left ankle while contesting a three-point attempt by Angus Glover with 3:23 left in the third quarter, but fortunately returned to the game with four minutes left.
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.
