The FIBA Asia Cup 2025 will feature 16 qualified Asian teams competing in Saudi Arabia from August 5 to 17.
What can the National Basketball Team of the Philippines expect from this tournament?
1. Best of the Best
All the Top 2 teams in each group from the previous FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers will all compete in this tournament.
After 3 successful windows, Gilas Pilipinas is one of the teams that have made an impressive record to clinch the #2 spot in Group B with 4 wins and 2 losses,s while the Tall Blacks of New Zealand claimed the top seed with a 5-1 record.
It also features the two-time FIBA Asia Cup champs, Australia, which won the title two straight times from 2017 to 2022. The other teams are Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, South Korea, China, Iran, Qatar, Syria, and the host nation, Saudi Arabia.
India, Iraq, Guam, and Chinese Taipei are the last four countries to finally complete the cast playing in this tournament as they had to battle against all the other Top 3 seeds from the Groups in the Asia Cup Qualifiers.
2. Time to beat Asia’s Alphas
In recent years, the Philippines has not only kept games close against top-tier teams but has also managed to secure victories against them.
From beating Latvia in the 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament as well as beating New Zealand in last year’s 2nd Window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, there’s still a lot of things left to prove for the Philippines to be considered the next big thing in Asia.
To start things off this 2025, Gilas were 0-2 to end the Qualifiers as they lost against Chinese Taipei, and the Tall Blacks got their revenge game from them. Now, the Tim Cone led squad will be put to the test on how much they have improved after these losses.
Because let’s get real here, at the end of the day, what matters the most is that Gilas will raise the golden trophy of whatever tournament they’ve joined and have golden medals wrapped around their necks to be considered the best team in Asia.
Anything less than the gold will just be another disappointment, considering how the entire country of the Philippines is addicted to this sport.
3. “Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broken”
A huge question remains lingering around the heads of not just the fans of Gilas but also their actual coaching staff and managers. Should they make any drastic change to their lineup?
Kai Sotto is out throughout the entire 2025. We all saw what AJ Edu can offer to Gilas in his games against New Zealand and Chinese Taipei, and it isn’t enough. Jamie Malonzo still hasn’t given the performance we are expecting from him ever since returning from his injury,y and the team has problems in making their 3-point shots.
And oh, the naturalized import of the Philippines, Justin Brownlee, is nursing a lot of injuries in the previous months. Even as we speak, he has an injured thumb and is currently playing in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals.
Truth be told, his health has now become a concern. Yes, he is still the “Magic Brownlee” we all know and love, but he is 36 years old now. How much more does he have left in the tank? Should the team call in the other naturalized import, the 6-foot-10 center Ange Kouame, to replace him?
How about Quentin Millora-Brown, the 24-year-old big man from UP Fighting Maroons? What’s the update on his eligibility to play for his country as a local?
Although Coach Tim has mentioned before that it’s not easy to just simply add new players in his 15-Man Pool as there are a lot of things to consider like Finance, Equipment, etc. there is no doubt that a change is needed before competing in August, regardless of how big or small that change is.
