Gilas focused on beating Syria, Iran

National team head coach Tim Cone admits that while Gilas Pilipinas remains focused on its own business, the squad will also be praying for Australia and New Zealand to keep on winning to help the Philippines’ cause in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Gilas is in a must-win situation in the race for a coveted ticket to next year’s main draw in Qatar as it remains outside of the top four in Group E.

Sporting an even 4-4 win-loss record in fifth, the Filipinos are looking to sweep the fifth window against Syria and Iran later this month in Malaysia.

“The bottomline is, we just got to take care of our own business,” Cone said ahead of the 27 and 29 November matches against the Syrians and the Iranians, respectively.

Gilas survived a grueling homestand in the fourth window last August.

The Pinoy cagers beat Jordan, 82-81, in overtime before topping Iran, 68-56, to stay alive in their bid for a fourth straight World Cup appearance.

However, the Philippines has a steep climb in the pool.

Australia is unbeaten in eight games on top of the standings, followed by New Zealand (6-2) while Iran and Jordan are tied in third and fourth with 5-3 slates. Syria is on the brink of elimination with a 2-6 record.

Only the top three squads and the best fourth-placed team after the second round will advance to basketball’s biggest stage in Doha.

Gilas needs to win its four remaining games for a better chance of booking a World Cup seat, but it will also need assistance from the Aussies and Kiwis to keep the Middle Eastern powerhouse squads from pulling away.

“The one we’re more concerned about is whether Australia and New Zealand continue to win in our group. They need to continue to win that to help us out,” Cone said.

Australia’s next two games are against Iran and Jordan. New Zealand is set to face in the fifth window the Jordanians and the Syrians.

Still, Cone wants his team to accomplish its task at hand first.

“But we feel like if we win three of our four remaining games, we have a really good shot to make the World Cup,” he said.

“We got to take care of business and certainly Syria is a game we can’t look past. We got to make sure that we are ready for Syria in our first game.

Gilas players, including new additions naturalized player Bennie Boatwright and Rhenz Abando, will meet in Malaysia on the 21st for a short training camp.