Kai Sotto reintroduced himself to Gilas Pilipinas with a defensive masterpiece to complete a thrilling come-from-behind 82-81 overtime win over Jordan for a rousing start in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers second round on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Protecting a one-point lead that could have gone higher if not for a five-second inbound violation, the 7-foot-3 center swatted away Abdullah Olajuwon’s shot as time expired.

“Our mentality is to get that one point. We can’t take for granted any possession. We had a slow start in the first quarter but came back possession by possession until we forced overtime,” said Sotto, who made his return after a two-year absence due to a spate of injuries.

Kevin Quiambao knocked down a left-elbow trey with 11.7 seconds left to shatter a 79-79 deadlock.

Freddy Ibrahim sank two free throws for Jordan on the other end before Sotto’s heroics ended Gilas’ four-game losing skid and gave it a 3-4 win-loss record despite missing naturalized player Justin Brownlee.

Sotto had a double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds, with two assists, a steal and two blocks for Gilas. CJ Perez had 16 markers, while Dwight Ramos and Quiambao added 14 points each.

The Filipinos overhauled an 18-point first-quarter deficit and displayed nerves of steel late in regulation, with Perez flipping in an under-the-basket layup to tie it at 72 with 45 seconds left.

Ahmad Al Dwairi missed his attempt, and Gilas also came out empty-handed on its last possession, sending the game into overtime.

Smoking

Gilas came out of the dugout in the second half smoking, putting pressure on the suddenly fading Jordanians to turn a five-point halftime deficit into a 46-47 lead off a slam dunk by Quiambao for the Philippines’ first taste of the lead with 7:21 left in the third canto.

Quiambao pushed Gilas’ advantage to 51-46 with 5:58 left on a couple of charities before Jordan rallied to take the driver’s seat, 58-54, at the end of the period.

The Jordanians found their mark from outside in the first quarter, hitting six triples led by Jalen Harris.

Jordan erected its biggest lead at 18 after Ibrahim sank a couple of foul shots for a 26-8 advantage with 1:52 remaining in the opening canto.

Gilas got its rhythm going in the second quarter and made a telling run in the tail end of the period, with Carl Tamayo draining a triple to beat the shot clock and put the host team closer, 39-44, heading into the intermission.

Gilas will try to make it two in a row in a clash with Iran (5-2) on Sunday.

Jordan slipped to a 5-2 slate despite Ibrahim’s 22-point effort, Harris’ 19 and Olajuwon’s 17.

Rout

Meanwhile, unbeaten Australia continued its rampage after ravaging hapless Syria, 123-64, for a seventh straight win and a step closer to securing a spot in the World Cup.

The Boomers forced the Syrians to commit 27 turnovers, which they converted into 48 turnover points.

Elijah Pepper rained down long bombs, sinking eight 3-pointers in a 32-point explosion to lead four other Australians in double-figure scoring.

Luke Travers had 14 points, Josh Bannan and Anthony Dell’Orso added 11 markers each, and Maxwell Mackinnon added 10 for the Boomers, who will take on Jordan on Sunday.

Syria suffered back-to-back losses for a 2-5 card.

The Syrians battle New Zealand, which outlasted Iran 93-91 in overtime for a 5-2 mark, on Sunday.

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