Gilas Pilipinas has a lot of contemplating to do in the next few weeks heading into the second round of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifier.

Back-to-back road losses in the third and final window of the home-and-away round have put the Philippines in a precarious spot in its bid for a fourth straight appearance on the world stage.

Gilas will carry over a 2-4 win-loss record in the next phase slated to begin next month — which means a must-win situation against three Middle Eastern squads.

The Filipinos are now facing a narrow and dangerous path for a ticket to the main draw next year in Doha, Qatar.

Gilas suffered a 43-point massacre at the hands of unbeaten Australia, 49-92, last Monday in Perth just a couple of days after a close 102-106 double overtime loss to New Zealand in Auckland.

“We could see that we still have a lot of things to change and improve. So, it’s a big learning experience for the team,” young gun Carl Tamayo said.

“So, hopefully, we can improve from this.”

The Aussies destroyed Gilas in a game that the Pinoy cagers played sans injured naturalized player Justin Brownlee.

“It was a tough game. We have to learn from this. Like Coach said, if we move on, there are going to be a lot of teams just as good as Australia,” Dwight Ramos said.

“We’ve got to keep working, remember this game, remember the feeling of getting embarrassed like this, work hard, and come back.”

Tamayo and Ramos, as well as other young guns in Kevin Quiambao, Juan Gomez De Liano and Mike Phillips gave Gilas a bright spot in a gloomy road trip for the team that has dropped its last four games –- all coming from the same rivals.

Head coach Tim Cone will need to work Gilas’ lapses and miscues and try to play flawless basketball to better the team’s chances of advancing to the World Cup.

“As Dwight said, it’s something we’ve got to take hold of and get better. If we move on, we’re going to see players like (Australia’s) Bryce (Cotton), (Tyrese) Proctor, (Jack) McVeigh, (Mitch) Creek, all those guys. They’re tremendous players and they know the game,” he said.

Gilas is joined by Australia (6-0), New Zealand (4-2), Iran (5-1), Jordan (5-1) and Syria (2-4) in the second round while the other group is composed of Lebanon (5-1), Japan (4-2), Qatar (4-2), Saudi Arabia (3-3), South Korea (3-3) and China (3-3).

The seven best-ranked teams in the second round –- the top three squads from the two groups and the best fourth-placer -- and host Qatar will earn slots to the world stage.

The Philippines will host the fourth window on 27 and 31 August at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Gilas will take on Jordan on the 27th before facing Iran four days later.