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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Boomers, Tall Blacks sharpen Gilas for Asian Qualifiers second round

Boomers, Tall Blacks sharpen Gilas for Asian Qualifiers second round

Published Sep 1, 2026 06:11 pm

At A Glance

  • Iron sharpens iron. And for Gilas Pilipinas, its experience in the first round of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers against New Zealand and Australia certainly came in handy for the Nationals in its 2-0 sweep of the fourth window.

Iron sharpens iron.

And for Gilas Pilipinas, its experience in the first round of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers against New Zealand and Australia certainly came in handy for the Nationals in their 2-0 sweep of the fourth window.

The Filipinos may have come out with a 2-4 record at the end of the first round of the qualifiers but Gilas believes playing to such a high level of competition allowed them to be ready for what was in store for them against Jordan and Iran in the second round.

“It was a lot of learning experience out there. I mean, those are the top two teams in the pool,” said Gilas star Dwight Ramos.

“We had tough opponents Australia and New Zealand  but they made us better. We were able to come back from slow starts and we’re just very happy for the guys,” he added.

Before the August window, Gilas came in on a four-game losing skid in the qualifiers — all of those came at the hands of the two Oceania teams. The only victories Gilas had in the first round was against Guam.

The Boomers gave Gilas a beating in their two meetings, winning 93-66 on the road and then 96-42 at their home turf. 

Against the Tall Blacks, it was more competitive with the Kiwis escaping 96-93 in the first meeting and then avoiding a homecourt upset with a 106-104 double-overtime win against Gilas.

As tough as the matches were, Ramos said the losses built Gilas character which finally paid off when they recovered from double-digit deficits in the 82-81 win over Jordan and the grindout 68-56 victory over Iran.

“We all believe in each other so whoever's out there on the court, looks like they're playing with confidence. Make or miss, it doesn't matter 'cause you know as teammates we're here behind them and we're always making up and picking each other up,” explained Ramos.

“It feels good 'cause it's been a while since we did that. It feels good. You know, (we) start winning games again. We gotta tough windows and feels like we're getting our groove,” he added.

Related Tags

Gilas Pilipinas Dwight Ramos FIBA
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