GILAS Pilipinas resumes its FIBA World Cup bid when it battles dangerous Jordan on Friday night as the fourth window of the 2027 Asian Qualifiers begins at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Game time is 8:30 p.m. with Filipino fans expected to pack the famed sports venue to support the Justin Brownlee-less Philippine team.
Gilas Pilipinas enters the game nursing a four-game losing skid from the second and third window of the qualifiers.
The Philippines lost its home and road games against New Zealand and Australia after opening the qualifiers with back-to-back wins over Guam.
The host team enters the game with a 2-4 record and needs to win a bunch of games to remain in contention for a World Cup berth.
At press time, however, the final 12-man roster has yet to be announced by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and national coach Tim Cone.
Brownlee, a naturalized Filipino, will not be around when Gilas Pilipinas battles Jordan but the reentry of 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto will be huge factor for the team.
The 24-year-old Sotto last played for Gilas Pilipinas in November 2024, helping the Philippines to a 93-89 win against New Zealand.
Sotto will be teaming up with fellow former Batang Gilas standout AJ Edu, with veteran June Mar Fajardo to form a sold front line for the host team.
Jordan, on the other hand, will have veteran big man Ahman Al-Dwairi and naturalized player Jalen Harris taking the lead.
Jordan is tied with Iran in the team standings with a 5-1 record.
Al-Dwairi brings so much experience for the Falcons, while Harris has the versatility and veteran smarts, having played for the Toronto Raptors and recently, with the New Taipei Kings in Taiwan.
“Jalen Harris will be a difficult challenge. (But) I trust coach Tim Cone though and he will figure it out,” said Phoenix coach Charles Tiu, who is coming off a recent coaching stint with Strong Group, which failed to accomplish its three-peat bid in the William Jones Cup.
Friday’s game marks the first time both teams collide since the Philippines defeated Jordan in the Asian Games final round en route to winning the gold medal in Hangzhou, China.
