No special treatment

There was talk that two players asked for compensation more than what was given to others in suiting up for Gilas at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year.  No names were mentioned and it’s best to leave it at that. They lost the chance to join the gold medal squad so it was their loss, not Gilas.’

In announcing Gilas’ 12-man lineup for the coming FIBA Asia Cup qualifying window, SBP president Al Panlilio made it clear that no special treatment will be given to any player. “All equal,” he said. Panlilio added that the players, including four from the Japanese B-League, have confirmed their participation.

The roster lists Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, CJ Perez, Jamie Malonzo, June Mar Fajardo, Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Carl Tamayo, Kai Sotto, Kevin Quiambao and Justin Brownlee. The only collegiate player in the cast is Quiambao, the UAAP MVP from La Salle. Brownlee’s status remains up in the air as FIBA has yet to announce its decision in the wake of a positive finding for cannabis in a drug test after the Asian Games final last October.

“We’re hoping Justin can play,” said Panlilio. While SBP awaits FIBA’s decision, there is hope for Brownlee to join Gilas in the coming window as in a precedent, NBA player Jordan Bell was suspended three months for the same violation last year. Brownlee has been in “voluntary suspension” and SBP is praying that his inactivity over the last four months may be a sufficient penalty.

Six players were retained from the Gilas squad that took the Asian Games gold medal in Hangzhou last year – Thompson, Newsome, Oftana, Perez, Fajardo and Brownlee. Seven saw action in the recent FIBA World Cup – Thompson, Perez, Fajardo, Malonzo, Sotto, Ramos and Edu.

There are 24 teams battling for 16 qualifying spots in the FIBA Asia Cup scheduled on Aug. 5-17, 2025, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The 16 qualified teams will then represent Asia/Oceania in the six 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifying windows that are set on Nov. 24-Dec. 2, 2025; Feb. 23-March 3, 2026; June 29-July 7, 2026; Aug. 24-Sept. 1, 2026; Nov. 23-Dec. 1, 2026 and Feb. 22-March 2, 2027.

In the coming window, the Philippines is bracketed with New Zealand, Hong Kong and Chinese-Taipei in Group B. The teams will round-robin over three home-and-away windows in February and November this year and in February next year. Gilas will face Hong Kong on the road on Feb. 22 and engage Chinese-Taipei at home on Feb. 25. Then, the Philippines will host New Zealand on Nov. 21 and Hong Kong on Nov. 24.  Next year, Gilas will visit Chinese-Taipei on Feb. 20 and New Zealand on Feb. 23.