Gilas Pilipinas star Justin Brownlee against Australia in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia. Photo from FIBA Basketball.MANILA — The bitter past will finally be put to rest as Gilas Pilipinas and Australia meet anew, this time in the 2027 edition of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
The Nationals and the Boomers rekindle their rivalry on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, with Gilas looking to boost its chances of advancing to the next round of the tournament.
This marks the first time the two squads will face each other on Philippine soil since the infamous 2018 brawl at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan. That chapter, however, has long been closed, with both programs having rebuilt ties and moved forward — ensuring that Sunday’s clash will be defined purely by competition on the court.
"We've been working on this relationship for years," said Jason Smith, Basketball Australia's Executive General Manager of High Performance, in a report by ESPN.
"This game is the final culmination of that, playing back in the environment. It's an opportunity to move forward,” he added.
The two teams have actually met since then in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia last August. In that match, the Philippines showed promise early but eventually bowed to the Aussies, 60-84.
READ: Gilas bows out of Asia Cup contention after falling short vs. Australia
READ: 7 years since infamous brawl, Gilas looks to rewrite history against Australia
For Gilas head coach Tim Cone, the task at hand remains the priority, and the Nationals will look to build on some of the positives that allowed them to push New Zealand to the limit in a 66-69 defeat on Thursday.
READ: Gilas falls to New Zealand, absorbs 1st defeat in WC Asian Qualifiers
“We defended well, we competed on the boards,” said the Barangay Ginebra coach.
Cone added that the team must find a better balance between execution and maximizing its talent, noting that it was largely individual ability that kept them within striking distance against the Kiwis.
“That's the next step for us, being able to get more execution,” said Cone, whose squad shot just 26-of-80 from the field (32.5%).
“That's why we didn't get much of a flow, and that was really what was most important. There's a fine balance that goes on in that. It can be difficult to find, especially with a team that you're not with all the time, but again, the more we are together, you know, we expect to fix that a little bit more,” he added.
According to FIBA, a Gilas victory — coupled with a Guam loss to New Zealand — would seal the Philippines’ advancement to the next round of the qualifiers.