It’s win or go home for Gilas Pilipinas from here on.

Gilas coach Tim Cone already knew what situation the Philippines was in after back-to-back losses in a failed homestand earlier in the year.

Two additional road defeats against the same rivals that handed Gilas a pair of heartbreakers in Manila made the mission clearer for the team.

As Cone put it, Gilas has to win the rest of the way if the Philippines wants to book a ticket to the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Qatar.

Gilas is already through to the second round of the Asian Qualifier despite suffering four straight setbacks, all from the same squads from Down Under — New Zealand and Australia.

A 102-106 double-overtime loss to the Tall Blacks followed by a 49-92 whipping from the unbeaten Boomers in the third window of the home-and-away round, pulled Gilas down into third spot in Group A, sporting a 2-4 win-loss record.

Unfortunately for the Filipinos, their carryover record in the second round will mean a steeper climb to land in the top three or earn a spot through the backdoor as the best fourth-placer.

“We’re not going to lose our berth by losing to Australia and New Zealand. The winning that we’re going to have to do is really when we play the Middle Eastern teams, and that’s going to be at the end of the year,” Cone said in an earlier interview.

But winning in the second round, which starts in August, is easier said than done.

Joining Gilas, Australia and New Zealand in the second round are Group C’s powerhouse teams Iran, Jordan and Syria.

Iran and Jordan both sport 5-1 slates while Syria carries a 2-4 mark. Australia remains unblemished in six games while New Zealand holds a 4-2 slate.

In the second round, the 12 teams, divided into two groups, play the squads they did not face in the first phase. The top three teams in each group and the best fourth-placed nation after the round will fly to Doha next year for the main draw running from 21 August to 12 September.

Gilas is not only in a must-win situation but will also need to get luck on its side to qualify for the World Cup for a fourth straight time.

Even with a sweep of the three matches — in which Gilas will need to win convincingly for a superior tiebreak — the Philippines still has to pray that at least one of New Zealand, Jordan and Iran won’t reach six wins for a chance to be the best fourth-placed squad.

But even if Gilas took care of its fourth-place spot in the group, its record would have to be better than the fourth-placer in the other bracket to advance to the world’s biggest basketball stage.

Gilas knows the job moving forward.

“We’re going to have to win those games (in the second round). Those are the ones that are really going to get us into the qualifying,” Cone said.

Basically, no room for mistakes this time.