Gilas Pilipinas is set to face one of the region’s powerhouses and a familiar rival following the results of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers draw on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at the Ezdan Palace Hotel in Doha, Qatar.

The Nationals were drawn in Group B along with world No. 21 New Zealand, longtime rival Chinese Taipei and pre-qualifiers winner Hong Kong for the qualifying stage with the first of the three windows happening in February next year.

The Filipinos need to finish within the top 2 of their group to advance to the main stage.

Ranked No. 38 in the world, Gilas is hoping to punch its ticket to the 2025 edition of the continental meet and get a chance to redeem itself following dismal showing in the FIBA Asia Cup 2022.

The last edition saw the Nationals miss out on the quarterfinals and finish ninth in the final standings – the country’s worst finish in the tournament in the last 15 years.

Easier said than done though as standing in between Gilas and its bid for redemption are the Tall Blacks who have dominated the Filipinos so far in the international stage.

The Taiwanese, on the other hand, had made significant improvement in rebuilding their national team while Hong Kong was certainly no pushover for the team.

Group A comprises Australia, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia while Group C has China, Japan, Guam and Mongolia.

Jordan is the heavy favorite in Group E which has Iraq, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia. Iran, on the other hand, is joined by Qatar, Kazakhstan and India while Lebanon was drawn with Bahrain, Syria and UAE.

Presiding the draw were Asian greats Hamed Haddadi of Iran and Gilas’ very own Gabe Norwood.