Gilas waltzes past Jordan in tuneup

MANILA, Philippines -- Gilas Pilipinas continues to roll ahead of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup.

Gilas turned back Jordan, 75-61, in their closed-door tuneup game early Sunday morning (Manila time) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

According to a social media post by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the Philippines jumped to a 40-29 lead at the half.

While Jordan crept closer in the third quarter, 55-47, timely 3-pointers by Kevin Quiambao, Calvin Oftana, Dwight Ramos and Scottie Thompson kept their opponents at bay.

“Well, I'm just looking for a measurement of where we are in terms of preparedness. I think that's really the key, just seeing how prepared we are… I don't think we're there yet, but I think this game will go a long way in terms of helping us get to where we want to get to,” Gilas head coach Tim Cone said in an interview with One Sports.

“We're really looking just for the quality of our play, the quality of our execution, allowing the guys to make basketball plays, and then just playing the heck out of the defense. That's really what we're looking for,” he added.

This is the first time the two teams left since Gilas defeated Jordan in the 2023 Asian Games, where the Philippines took home the gold medal for the first time in 61 years.

This is the Nationals’ second straight win in as many friendly games. The Filipinos earlier defeated the Macau Black Bears at the Smart Araneta Coliseum a couple of days before they flew to Jeddah.

“Of course, it's a non-bearing game, but it's an opportunity for us to continue to get better and continue to improve in what we're doing. I just want to see us improve and stay together and just keep on working on the things that we need to work on, so that way we can get the games that really matter,” Gilas guard Chris Newsome said in the same interview with One Sports.

The Philippines will kick off its Asia Cup path to glory against Chinese Taipei on Wednesday, 2 a.m. (Manila time). They will take on New Zealand on Thursday, before capping off the group stage on Saturday against Iraq.