Gilas Pilipinas Men will look to sustain their momentum in the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers as they go up against another West Asian powerhouse.
The Philippines, coming off an inspiring 82-81 overtime win over Jordan last Friday, takes on Iran tonight in front of an expected jam-packed crowd at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Tip-off is set for 8:00 PM.
Gilas snapped a four-game skid last Friday through the heroics of Kevin Quiambao and Kai Sotto, needing a clutch basket from the former before a huge defensive stop by the latter.
But the job is not yet over.
“I just keep telling the guys. The job is only half done,” said Tim Cone, as the Nationals remain in a precarious position with a 3-4 record in Group E.
“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.”
According to Casino Plus sportsbook, Gilas enters the matchup as a +2.0 underdog against Team Melli. The over/under is set at 155.5.
Bets can be made here: https://www.casinoplus.com.ph/home/inGame?name=basketball&title=SportBet.
Making his Gilas debut is Justin Arana, who replaces Carl Tamayo in the lineup after the Changwon LG forward sustained a left ankle sprain against Jordan.
Emotions will also run high on Sunday evening as June Mar Fajardo makes his final national team appearance, bringing his total to 70 appearances for Gilas. Completing the Gilas roster are CJ Perez, Scottie Thompson, Dwight Ramos, Juan Gomez de Liano, AJ Edu, Troy Rosario, Chris Newsome, and Justine Baltazar.
Iran, meanwhile, will look to bounce back after a heartbreaking 91–93 loss to New Zealand.
Team Melli head coach Sotirious Manolopolous hopes Mohammad Amini can find his touch against Gilas after going just 4-of-14 from the field against the Tall Blacks.
“He is very important. He is very important to us,” said the Greek head coach. “The only problem was he only came two days ago, and he only had one practice.
“He needs more time to adjust to our game. And unfortunately, we didn’t have time for this.”
Gilas will also need to contain the likes of Matin Aghajanpour and Mohammad Jamshidi to keep the game close against Iran, which sits at 5-2 in the standings, tied with Jordan and New Zealand.
Team Melli will also have Seyed Jafari, Arman Zangeneh, Arsalan Kazemi, Piter Girgoorian, Mohammad Heydari, Salar Monji, Mobin Sheikhi, Hasan Aliakbari, and Alireza Sharifi.
Before the main event, the two Oceania teams will look to move closer to securing a World Cup berth, with the Tall Blacks taking on struggling Nosour Qasioun of Syria at 2:00 PM, followed by the Australia Boomers squaring off against Jordan.
New Zealand is a massive -39.0 favorite, while Australia is a -27.0 favorite heading into their respective matchups, according to Casino Plus sportsbook.
The over/under for the New Zealand–Syria game is set at 170.0, while the Australia–Jordan game has a total-points line of 170.5.
All four nations will still field the same 12-man rosters for their respective games.
The Boomers, gunning for their eighth straight win, will be composed of Josh Bannan, Anthony Dell’orso, Dash Daniels, Sam Froling, Angus Glover, Jacob Holt, Nick Kay, Tanner Krebs, Max Mackinnon, Elijah Pepper, Luke Travers, and Tom Wilson.
New Zealand, meanwhile, features Flynn Cameron, Tobias Cameron, Carlin Davison, Dan Fotu, Jordan Hunt, Shea Ili, Sam Mennenga, Jordan Ngatai, Reuben Te Rangi, Sam Timmins, Sam Waardenburg, Corey Webster, Tai Webster, and Luca Yates as it looks to win its sixth straight game.
Jalen Harris and Freddy Ibrahim will look to bring Jordan back into the win column, playing alongside Ahmad Al Dwairi, Amin Abu Hawwas, Ahmad Alhamarsheh, Mohammad Hussein, Saif Al-Deen Saleh, Hadi Alshami, Rahwi Kilani, Omar Salman, Malek Kanaan, and Abdullah Olajuwon.
Syria, currently 2-5, will be composed of Omar Idelbi, Yousef Abdullah, Kamel Abdullah, Majd Arbasha, Tarek Aljabi, Alrahman Alkordy, Albulwahab Alhamwi, David Hermes, Omar Ali, Omar Makanas, Christian Maran, and James Justice.
