Australia manhandles Gilas to nab FIBA Asia Cup semis spot

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Australia put on a three-point shooting clinic to dismantle Gilas Pilipinas, 84-60, in the FIBA Asia Cup quarterfinals on Aug. 13, 2025, at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The win secured Australia a semifinal clash with Iran, which completed a 21-point comeback against Chinese Taipei.

From the opening tip, the undefeated Australians overwhelmed the Filipinos, building a 17-point lead in the first quarter.

Australia drilled seven of its first eight three-point attempts in the opening five minutes, exploiting Gilas’ defensive lapses beyond the arc.

The tournament favorites repeatedly ran pick-and-pop sets to draw mismatches with June Mar Fajardo, then punished switches with outside shooting.

Although Gilas scored just enough to halt early scoring droughts, Australia’s give-and-go plays inside extended the lead to 29-12 at the end of the first quarter.

Gilas never cut the deficit to single digits, struggling to match Australia’s pace and execution for the full 40 minutes.

Australia dominated nearly every statistical category except assists, where Gilas had a slim 15-13 advantage.

The Philippines’ best stretch came in the third quarter, when they outscored Australia 22-21, led by Kevin Quiambao’s hot shooting.

Quiambao finished with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, as the only Gilas player to find consistent rhythm.

His performance partially offset Justin Brownlee’s off night, but Australia’s inside attack in the fourth quarter sealed the outcome.

Gilas’ switch to a 2-3 zone slowed Australia’s perimeter shooting, but it opened driving lanes and post opportunities that the Boomers exploited.

In the end, Australia connected on 11 triples at a 37% clip, while Gilas hit just 8 of 33.

“We tried a few things, but they didn’t work,” Gilas head coach Tim Cone said. “We wanted to keep the game at a certain tempo and make it more of an execution-type game rather than an up-and-down one, but they completely disrupted that. We couldn’t do it.”