FIBA WC Qualis: Gilas unveils 12-man lineup for November window
By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team released its official 12-man roster on Nov. 11, 2026, for the upcoming fifth window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
Leading the national team are program mainstays AJ Edu, Chris Newsome, CJ Perez, Kevin Quiambao, Dwight Ramos, Kai Sotto, Juan Gomez de Liaño and Scottie Thompson.
Head coach Tim Cone and his staff also welcomed returning players, with the frontcourt duo of Quentin Millora-Brown and Mike Phillips suiting up once again and donning the national team colors.
Perhaps the most notable addition to Gilas’ 12-man roster is Rhenz Abando, another returning player who last played for the national team during the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Bennie Boatwright, a former San Miguel Beermen import and a reserve naturalized player, will finally make his highly anticipated Gilas debut after the Senate approved his naturalization bill.
According to the SBP, Gilas will leave early for Malaysia on Nov. 21 to undergo a five-day training camp at the Karisma Arena in Seremban, where the games will take place.
With the addition of new players, Cone explained that the team’s intensive practice sessions will focus more on integration and play familiarization.
Although Abando has already played for Gilas, the team used a different system when Chot Reyes, TNT Tropang 5G’s chief tactician, was head coach during the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
The same applies to Boatwright, who may have participated in Gilas’ previous training sessions but was never called up to play a game as the national team’s official naturalized player.
Gilas must finish in the top three of Group E to qualify for a fourth straight FIBA World Cup and is currently ranked fifth behind Australia, New Zealand, Iran and Jordan.
The Filipinos will have to sweep their games against Syria on Nov. 27 and Iran on Nov. 29 to boost their chances of breaking into the top three and keep their FIBA World Cup qualification streak alive.
Laban Pilipinas, Puso!
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