Gilas Pilipinas has kept the same lineup for its upcoming FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifier against New Zealand on Thursday, with Justin Brownlee once again leading the squad.
The 12-man roster is largely unchanged from the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Latvia, although injured players AJ Edu, Jamie Malonzo, and naturalized player Ange Kouame have been left out.
The only change to the roster is the return of Scottie Thompson, who missed the OQT due to a back injury.
He will join June Mar Fajardo, Kai Sotto, Dwight Ramos, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, CJ Perez, Kevin Quiambao, Japeth Aguilar, and Mason Amos for the crucial clash at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
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Both teams head into the game with perfect 2-0 records, and the top spot in Group C will be on the line.
A victory for the Philippines will bring them closer to securing a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with another vital match against Hong Kong scheduled for Sunday.
However, if Gilas loses, they can still qualify by defeating Hong Kong on Sunday, provided New Zealand beats Chinese Taipei in their Monday matchup.
The exclusion of Edu, the 6-foot-10 Fil-Nigerian, was expected after he sustained a knee injury while playing for Nagasaki in the B.League prior to joining the national team for training.
Edu had been part of the initial 15-man pool but was ruled out for this round.
With FIBA rules allowing only one naturalized player per team, Ange Kouame and Jamie Malonzo were also omitted from the final lineup.
Coach Tim Cone had previously confirmed that Brownlee would be the sole naturalized player for the game.
On the other side, the Tall Blacks, who are also undefeated in the qualifiers, will be led by former Converge import Tom Vodanovich.
Corey Webster, a key addition, will make his debut in the qualifiers.
The rest of the Tall Blacks roster includes Sam Waardenburg, Flynn Cameron, Izaya Le’afa, Hyrum Harris, Oscar Goodman, Kaia Isaac, Taylor Britt, Tyrell Harrison, and Walter Brown.
New head coach Judd Flavell has opted to field just 11 players for the game.
