Regardless of what happens, Gilas Pilipinas has a lot to gain from facing powerhouse Australia in the quarterfinal of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup.

If the Filipinos claim the scalp of the three-peat-seeking Aussies, they’ll advance in the Final Four of the prestigious continental basketball tilt for the first time in 10 years and will have an extended stay in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

A loss, albeit painful, will still benefit Gilas and head coach Tim Cone in their pursuit of claiming a seat in the biggest international basketball stage outside of the Olympics — the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Doha.

Gilas tests its mettle against the Australians ahead of the World Cup Asian Qualifiers in the Asia Cup Last Eight being played at press time at the King Abdullah Sports City.

And for sure, Cone and the rest of his think-tank will be taking down important notes dealing with the Aussies.

Coming in as underdogs with the possibility of playing with a 10-man roster after Calvin Oftana and CJ Perez sustained ankle injuries during their quarters chase, the Filipinos face a daunting task taking down the Boomers.

Although Gilas would need to play perfect basketball to pull off the competition’s biggest upset over the world No. 7-ranked Australians, Cone doesn’t want to put heavy pressure on his team.

“I don’t think we have to do anything special. We just got to come out and play our best game, and if we do that, we’re going to give ourselves a shot,” he said.

If the chance doesn’t come, Gilas will at least get a feel of the same team it will face in the World Cup Asian Qualifiers, which will begin in November.

The Philippines is bunched in Group A with Australia, along with familiar rival New Zealand and Guam, playing a double round robin home-and-away format.

Gilas will meet the Boomers on 1 March 2026 and then again on 6 July.

The Nationals need to familiarize themselves with Australia as they will face a different team from the Boomers they encountered in the brawl-marred FIBA World Cup qualifying game back on 2 July 2018 at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

In the last five meetings between the two teams, Gilas won only once. And it was back in the classification round of the 1978 World Championship in Puerto Rico when the Filipinos escaped with a 101-100 squeaker behind Bogs Adornado’s 20-point outing.

For Cone, Wednesday night’s Asia Cup quarters game will be his first meeting with Australia.

The Gilas that traded punches, kicks — and even a flying chair — with the Boomers in the infamous ‘basketbrawl’ was then handled by coach Reyes.

“I’ve never coached against Australia before. This will be my first time. So, I’m excited about it,” the 67-year-old tactician said.

Gilas advanced into the quarters after beating host Saudi Arabia, 95-88, in overtime in the knockout round early Tuesday (Manila time).

“Australia is not Saudi Arabia, so we know we have a higher mountain to climb, but we feel we match up, and we feel we have a good chance at it,” Cone said.

“So, I think just right now it’s all about making sure we have enough legs, enough energy to come out and play them at the level we’ll need to play.”

If Gilas gets the boot, it will still be a fruitful run for the team after missing the quarters in the 2022 edition.