GILAS Pilipinas is off to defend its men’s basketball crown in the 2026 Asian Games, following the morale-boosting fourth window of the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
The Nationals beat Iran and Jordan before the passionate Filipino fans at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila a few days ago.
Now, the Gilas heads to Japan for the Asian Games, with a different set of players, but the same Gilas mentality. The likes of Kai Sotto, Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu and other veterans won’t be in the lineup for Japan.
The final lineup for Gilas will comprise an 11-man roster with young guns in RJ Abarrientos, Jerrick Ahanmisi, Justin Arana, Brandon Bates, Justine Baltazar, Sedrick Barefield, Robert Bolick, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Zavier Lucero, Adrian Nocum, and Don Trollano.
Drawn into Group C for the preliminary round, the Philippines will face Bahrain, Kazakhstan, and China. Gilas opens its campaign against Bahrain on Friday, Sept. 11, followed by a matchup with Kazakhstan, before taking a one-day break ahead of a high-stakes showdown against archrival China on Monday, Sept. 14.
Head coach Tim Cone earlier said that they have left one slot for naturalized player Justin Brownlee, who’s waiting for medical clearance following an injury.
Brownlee did not play for Gilas against Iran and Jordan in the Fiba Asia Qualifiers.
Brownlee famously powered the Philippines to gold in the 2023 Asian Games, steering the team past host China in a legendary semifinal comeback before taking down Jordan in the final to end the 61-year men’s basketball title drought in the Asiad.
The 5-on-5 men’s basketball competition will take place at the IG Arena in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, which can host about 15,000 to 17,000 fans. / RSC
