Photo credit: FIBA | fiba.basketball
World No. 39 and Asia’s No. 7 Gilas Pilipinas Men completed a sweep of the fourth window of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers, defeating Asia’s No. 4 Iran, 68–56, on Sunday, August 30, 2026, at a jam-packed Mall of Asia Arena. The victory gave Gilas back-to-back wins and improved its record to 4–4 in Group E. [FULL REPLAY VIDEO BY ONESPORTS]
After falling behind by 13 points in the opening quarter, Gilas responded with a strong second-quarter surge, outscoring Iran, 29–16, to take a 36–34 lead into halftime. The Philippines then tightened its defense after the break, limiting the Iranians to just 22 points in the second half while gradually building its lead. Gilas put the game away in the final quarter, outscoring Iran, 19–9, to secure the victory.
Juan Gómez de Liaño sparked Gilas Pilipinas off the bench with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, including a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, along with 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Dwight Ramos also finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, and 1 block, while Kai Sotto posted another huge double-double with 13 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, to go with 3 assists in 32 minutes of play.
AJ Edu logged a game-high 37 minutes and anchored Gilas Pilipinas’ defense in the paint alongside Kai Sotto, making his presence felt on both ends of the floor. He finished with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and a game-high 3 blocks for a 17 efficiency rating.
Adding to the Gilas effort was the 36-year-old June Mar “The Kraken” “Abai” Fajardo, who made a memorable seven-minute appearance in what marked his farewell after a 13-year stint with the national team. The veteran center was greeted with a thunderous ovation from the MOA Arena crowd, who serenaded him with repeated “MVP! MVP! MVP!” chants. Fajardo responded with 6 points on a perfect 1-of-1 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, along with 2 rebounds.
The win gave Gilas Pilipinas another important win in Group E as it continues its push for qualification to the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Gilas (4–4) will return to action in the November window against Syria (2–6) on November 27 and Iran (5–3) on November 30, 2026. The Philippines will then face Jordan on February 25, 2027, and Syria again on February 28 in the final window of the qualifiers.
Meanwhile, the Asian Games-bound Gilas Pilipinas will look to defend the men’s basketball gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games, with its Group C elimination-round games against Bahrain on September 11, Kazakhstan on September 12, and China on September 14 will be played at the Aichi International Arena (IG Arena) in Japan.
The Gilas Men’s team will be composed of an all-PBA lineup led by Robert Bolick, along with Sedrick Barefield, Zavier Lucero, Adrian Nocum, RJ Abarrientos, Justin Arana, Justin Baltazar, and others. [more info]
(to be updated...)
The Scores:
PHILIPPINES 68 - Gomez de Liaño 16, Ramos 16, Sotto 13, Edu 8, Fajardo 6, Quiambao 6, Perez 3, Thompson 0, Newsome 0, Arana DNP, Baltazar DNP, Rosario DNP.
IRAN 56 - Sheikhi 21, Amini 7, Aghajanpour 6, Monji 5, Jafari 4, Girgoorian 5, Heydari 4, Kazemi2, Taheri 2, Zangeneh 0, Jamshidi 0, Aliakbari 0.
Quarters: 7-18, 36-34, 49-47, 68-56. [FULL REPLAY VIDEO] | [HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO] | GAME STATS
🏀 Asian Games 2026: (Group C | Men's Basketball)
Venue: Aichi International Arena (IG Arena) Japan
(Sept. 11, 2026)
Gilas vs. Bahrain [LIVE] (Sept. 12, 2026)
Gilas vs. Kazakhstan [LIVE] (Sept. 14, 2026)
Gilas vs. China [LIVE] (Sept. 16, 2026) Quarterfinals
(Sept. 18, 2026) Semifinals
(Sept. 20, 2026) Medal Round
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