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.

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.

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.

The Philippines 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.

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

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.