MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas did not simply forget the four straight defeats that threatened to derail its FIBA World Cup qualifying campaign. According to Dwight Ramos, the national team carried those losses with it — and finally turned the lessons into a victory when it mattered most.
The Philippines clawed back from an early 18-point deficit before escaping Jordan, 82-81, in overtime Friday night at the Mall of Asia Arena, snapping a four-game losing streak and injecting new life into its bid to reach the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
For Ramos, the dramatic turnaround was not born from one magical night.
It was shaped by everything Gilas had endured before it.
Four Losses That Changed Gilas
The Philippines opened the Asian Qualifiers with consecutive victories over Guam, but momentum quickly disappeared.
Gilas subsequently dropped four straight games, including a crushing stretch in the previous window that exposed both its strengths and its weaknesses.
Against New Zealand on July 3, the Filipinos came agonizingly close to ending the skid, only to lose a 106-102 double-overtime thriller in Auckland. Gilas repeatedly put itself in position to win, including holding advantages late in regulation and the extra periods, but New Zealand made the decisive plays down the stretch.
Three days later came an entirely different kind of defeat.
Australia overwhelmed the Philippines, 92-49, in Perth — a 43-point beating that left Gilas with a 2-4 record after the first round.
Those losses hurt, but Ramos believes they also hardened the team.
“There were a lot of learning experiences there,” Ramos said after the Jordan victory, adding that facing elite opposition ultimately “made us better.”
Friday night offered evidence that those lessons were beginning to stick.
Jordan Lands the First Punch
For a while, another painful Gilas defeat looked possible.
Jordan exploded out of the gates and raced to a 26-8 advantage, punishing the Philippines before the home side slowly began working its way back into the contest.
This time, however, Gilas did not unravel.
Ramos helped steady the Filipinos with 14 points, five rebounds and two assists, providing another dependable two-way performance at a time when the national team was playing without naturalized star Justin Brownlee.
But the comeback became a collective effort.
Kai Sotto, making his return to national-team competition after nearly two years away, delivered 18 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks. CJ Perez scored 16 points, producing several of Gilas’ biggest baskets late in regulation and overtime. Kevin Quiambao added 14 points, including the shot that ultimately changed the game.
Quiambao Hits the Shot, Sotto Saves the Night
With the overtime score tied at 79, Perez attacked and drew Jordan’s defense toward him before finding Quiambao open beyond the arc.
Quiambao buried the three-pointer with 11.7 seconds remaining, pushing Gilas ahead, 82-79.
Jordan still had one final opportunity.
After cutting the deficit to one, the Falcons put the ball in the hands of Abdullah Olajuwon for a potential game-winning attempt.
Sotto was waiting.
The Gilas center rejected Olajuwon’s shot near the basket in the dying seconds, sealing one of the Philippines’ most important victories of the qualifying campaign.
The sequence turned what could have been another chapter in Gilas’ losing streak into perhaps the clearest example yet of what Ramos was talking about.
Against New Zealand, the Philippines had repeatedly struggled to finish a game it could have won.
Against Jordan, Gilas finally finished.
World Cup Hopes Alive — But Pressure Remains
The victory improved the Philippines to 3-4 in Group E, but the standings underline just how little room for error remains.
Australia entered the next game day unbeaten at 7-0, while Iran, New Zealand and Jordan were all at 5-2. Gilas remained outside the top three with five games left in the second round.
Under FIBA’s qualification format, the top three teams from each second-round group plus the best fourth-placed team will advance to the 2027 World Cup, in addition to automatically qualified host Qatar.
That makes every remaining Gilas game potentially decisive.
And there is little time to enjoy the Jordan escape.
The Philippines returns to the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, August 30, at 8 p.m. for another critical matchup against Iran. Team Melli is also coming off an overtime heartbreak, having lost 93-91 to New Zealand on Friday.
Iran also carries history on its side.
FIBA notes that the Philippines has lost its last two World Cup Qualifier meetings with Iran, both by eight points. The teams’ most recent overall meeting came at the 2019 World Cup in China, where Iran defeated Gilas, 95-75.
For Ramos, that means Friday’s emotional victory needs to become history almost immediately.
Iran, he acknowledged, presents another major challenge.
Gilas has already learned how painful losing can be.
Against Jordan, the Filipinos showed they may also have learned something more important: how to survive when the game reaches the moments that once broke them.
The question now is whether that lesson can carry them through the rest of the road to Qatar.
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