Gilas unveils 18-man pool for the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team released its official 18-man pool for the upcoming first window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Nov. 17, 2025.

Leading the lineup are national team mainstays Dwight Ramos, June Mar Fajardo, Kevin Quiambao, Carl Tamayo, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Jamie Malonzo, AJ Edu, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana and CJ Perez.

Returning players were also welcomed by head coach Tim Cone and the staff, with the quartet of Troy Rosario, Juan Gomez de Liaño, RJ Abarrientos and Ange Kouame suiting up once again, donning the national team colors.

Quentin Millora-Brown, a former UP Fighting Maroon and a UAAP champion, will finally be making his highly anticipated Gilas debut after being reclassified from a naturalized player to a local.

Kai Sotto, who is still recovering from a knee injury, was still included in the list, while Justin Brownlee will be serving as the squad’s naturalized player.

Gilas will begin its practice session at the Blue Eagle Gym in preparation for back-to-back home-and-away games against the Guam national team.

The Filipino hoopers will test the retooled Guam on the road this Nov. 28 and will later return home and defend their turf on Dec. 1.

With the addition of new players, Cone explained that their two-week intensive practice sessions will be focused more on integration and play familiarization.

Although Juan GDL already played for Gilas, it was still a different system that was used, as the head coach at that time was Tab Baldwin, Ateneo de Manila University’s (ADMU) chief tactician.

The same scenario goes with QMB, as the defensive frontcourt will be learning several dimensions of Cone’s system, including the triangle.

Working alongside Cone on the coaching side are Richard Del Rosario, LA Tenorio, Jong Uichico and Josh Reyes. Still serving as Gilas’ team manager is San Miguel Corporation Sports Director Alfrancis Chua.