It's a tall task, but Gilas Pilipinas will have a couple of chances to advance to the Second Round of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers. That tall task comes in the form of the Tall Blacks and the Boomers.
Dwight Ramos, Juan Gomez de Liaño, Justin Brownlee, and Quentin Millora-Brown suit up for Gilas Pilipinas. | Photos: Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas
Gilas Pilipinas will host both the Tall Blacks of New Zealand and the Boomers of Australia (plus Chinese Taipei and China in an interesting matchup of their own) in the February window of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
These will take place from February 26 to March 1 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Here's the thing: Both the Philippines and Australia have two shots to book an early ticket to the Second Round.
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The Philippines can get in IF (1) they beat New Zealand, or (2) they beat Australia AND Guam lose both games.
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Meanwhile, the Boomers can qualify IF (1) they beat Guam, or (2) they beat Gilas AND if the Tall Blacks lose both games.
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Guam and New Zealand cannot qualify or be eliminated in the next two games.
The games will also be aired on Pilipinas Live, One Sports, One Sports+, PBA Rush, and RPTV.
For the first round, the Philippines was drawn in Group A along with Guam, New Zealand, and Australia.
Here are the game schedule details, where to watch, lineups, highlights and more.
GAME SCHEDULE | SECOND WINDOW
Thursday | February 26 | MOA Arena
Philippines vs New Zealand
- 7:30 pm LIVE | One Sports+ | PBA Rush | RPTV | Pilipinas Live
- 9:30 pm catchup | One Sports
Sunday | March 1 | MOA Arena
Philippines vs Australia
- 7:30 pm LIVE | One Sports+ | PBA Rush | RPTV | Pilipinas Live
- 9:00 pm catchup | One Sports
GAME SCHEDULE | FIRST WINDOW
Friday | November 28 | Yigo Village, Guam
Guam (81) vs Philippines (37) | PHI def. GUM, 87-46
Monday | December 1 | Ateneo Blue Eagles Gym
Philippines (37) vs Guam (81)
- 7:30 p.m. LIVE
- One Sports YouTube | Pilipinas Live
- One Sports | One Sports+ | PBA Rush | RPTV
WHERE TO WATCH GILAS GAMES?
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Streaming:
Pilipinas Live | Mobile: Download via App Store or Google Play | Desktop: PilipinasLive.com
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Free-to-air: One Sports | Cignal Ch. 6
- Free-to-air: RPTV | Free TV Ch. 9, DTT Ch. 18.2, 19.1
- Cable: One Sports+ | Cignal Ch. 261 HD & Ch. 91 SD
- Cable: PBA Rush | Cignal TV Ch. 260 HD Ch. 90 SD
WHAT IS THE FORMAT?
- 16 nations vie for seven spots in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers
- In the first round, the 16 teams will be divided in four groups of four
- Each team will face the three other teams in the group in a home-and-away format over three windows: November 2025, February 2026, July 2026
- The top three teams from each group advance to the second round, where they will join three teams from another group. All teams carry over the results.
- Host team Qatar will take up one of the three spots in the group, regardless of their position within their group
- In the second round, each team will play home-and-away against the three teams coming from the other group over three more windows scheduled in August 2026, November 2026, and February 2027
- The to three teams, along with the best fourth team in addition to Qatar from each group will qualify to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027
WHO ARE IN THE FINAL 12?
PHILIPPINES
- Justin Brownlee
- AJ Edu
- June Mar Fajardo
- Juan Gomez de Liaño
- Quentin Millora-Brown
- Chris Newsome
- Calvin Oftana
- CJay Perez
- Kevin Quiambao
- Dwight Ramos
- Carl Tamayo
- Scottie Thompson
NEW ZEALAND
- Taylor Britt
- Max Darling
- Carlin Davison
- Tyrell Harrison
- Alex Mcnaught
- Sam Mennenga
- Taine Murray
- Jordan Ngatai
- Keanu Rasmussen
- Tohi Smith Milner
- Reuben Te Rangi
- Yanni Wetzell
AUSTRALIA
- Mitch Creek
- Sam Froling
- Jacob Holt
- Nick Kay
- Tanner Krebs
- David Okwera
- Elijah Pepper
- Reyne Smith
- Kody Stattmann
- Isaac White
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Jack White
- Tom Wilson
STORIES | SECOND WINDOW
STORIES | FIRST WINDOW