Gilas Pilipinas is set to rekindle an infamous matchup as it enters the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup quarterfinals.
Coming off two straight victories, the Nationals will try to defy the odds anew, but standing in their way is no less than the three-peat-seeking powerhouse that is Australia.
“I’ve never coached against Australia before,” said head coach Tim Cone after they defeated Saudi Arabia early Tuesday, August 12.
“This will be my first time. I’m excited about it.”
While this would be one of the rare firsts for someone as tenured as the PBA’s winningest coach, it will also be the first time that the Philippines and Australia will meet since the two squads’ controversial brawl on July 2, 2018.
The incident happened at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan, when they were battling in the 2019 World Cup Asian qualifiers.
At the time, the team coached by Chot Reyes and led by naturalized player Andray Blatche figured in a fight that led to nine players from the Philippines and four from the Boomers getting ejected. Both federations were later given fines and hefty sanctions by FIBA.
The brawl also left Gilas only having Baser Amer, Gabe Norwood and June Mar Fajardo available to play and continue the match, and the latter two went on to intentionally foul out, resulting in Australia winning prematurely with still time left in the third quarter.
Since then, both teams have managed to move on well in their own ways.
Australia has ruled two straight editions of the Asia Cup and is yet to lose a game since moving to the continent in 2017. According to Basketball Australia, the Boomers are 12-0 in Asia Cup competition from 2017 to 2022.
The Philippines, on the other hand, has staged a hosting of the 2023 World Cup, and also listed victories over powerhouses Latvia and New Zealand in 2024.
However, seven years later, one thing remains the same: the Boomers are still the favored squad between the two countries.
Australia has swept all of its assignments in this year’s edition of the continental meet so far, defeating Korea, Lebanon, and Qatar to outright advance into the quarters, extending their record to 15-0.
“We know that they are pretty much the number one seed in the tournament,” said Cone.
On the other hand, the Philippines have been battling an uphill climb, losing their matches against Chinese Taipei and New Zealand, and needing to defeat both Iraq and Saudi Arabia to advance and remain alive.
But even with the odds not being on Gilas’ side, Cone says that they are embracing the daunting task of taking down Australia.
Together with Gilas in its hopes of advancing to the semifinals are the always-basketball-crazy Filipino fans that Cone has credited with helping elevate their game.
“Our crowd really elevates our game,” the Barangay Ginebra coach said of their supporters in Jeddah.
“They go crazy, and that really lifts the spirit that we have. That’s something we just got.”
The Philippines’ sixth-man will be of huge help against the Aussies, especially since both Calvin Oftana and CJ Perez — both riddled with ankle injuries — are questionable to play because of their injuries.
Now, Gilas will have the opportunity to not only repay them for their support, but also finally rewrite the gloomy history that the aforementioned brawl — albeit silently — clouded Philippine basketball nearly a decade ago. (ABS-CBN News)