Bright future beckons Gilas

Young guns playing professional basketball overseas turned out to be Gilas Pilipinas’ brightest spots in a failed bid to end a four-decade title drought in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Although falling short in their mission, Gilas’ future looks bright with the likes of Dwight Ramos, Kevin Quiambao and AJ Edu leading the way.

The trio produced consistent numbers throughout the competition under the guidance of head coach Tim Cone and unfazed by the bright lights of the prestigious tournament, which featured the finest talents from Asia and Oceania.

Opting to play in leagues abroad to learn and develop their skills on an international level, the youngbloods provided the much-needed support for naturalized player Justin Brownlee, as their veteran Gilas teammates from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) struggled with form or were sidelined by injuries.

Outside of Brownlee’s 20.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, Ramos, Quiambao and Edu delivered the numbers for Gilas, who closed their run with a 2-3 win-loss record.

Ramos averaged 16.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game while Quiambao normed 12.0 points with 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists with 44.4 percent shooting from the outside.

Edu, a standout for B.League club Gunma Crane Thunders, flirted with a double-double average with 8.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per outing.

Even Korean Basketball League (KBL) champion Changwon LG Sakers import Carl Tamayo contributed off the bench with 3.4 points and 1.6 boards per game.

Gilas saw its Final Four hopes crash after suffering a 60-84 loss to three-peat-seeking Australia in the knockout quarterfinal on Wednesday evening at the King Abdullah Sports City.

Despite going down by as many as 26 points, the Filipino crowd that trooped to the stadium had something to cheer about as Quiambao showcased his scoring prowess against the mighty Boomers.

The De La Salle University product playing for the Goyang Sona Skygunners in the KBL carried the scoring load for Gilas with Brownlee shackled by the Aussies’ suffocating defense.

Quiambao had 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting including five triples. Dwight Ramos, who plays for Levanga Hokkaido in the Japan B.League, had 15 markers while Edu had eight points and eight rebounds.

With its campaign over, Gilas will now focus on the bigger task: Qualifying for the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Doha.

“It’s a great learning experience for us. We will carry this over until the next one in November,” Quiambao said.

Gilas will again challenge Asia Cup tormentors New Zealand and Australia, along with Guam in the double round-robin and home-and-away World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

The Filipinos will meet Guam on 28 November and again on 1 December before facing the Tall Blacks on 26 February and again on 3 July next year.

Gilas’ rematch against the Boomers is set on 1 March and 6 July.