All guts. All glory.

By his own high standards, Kevin Quiambao was having an off night for Gilas Pilipinas against Jordan on Friday, but that did not stop him from taking the biggest shot of the game.

Shooting 4-for-11 from the field and just 1-for-6 from deep, Quiambao still had the confidence to fire a three-pointer from the left wing with the game tied at 79 in overtime.

He had previously missed a trey from the same spot.

The next attempt? Swish. Nothing but net.

Quiambao’s triple gave Gilas the 82-79 lead with 11.7 seconds remaining.

The Philippines held on to beat Jordan, 82-81, in overtime, snapping a four-game skid in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers before a packed SM Mall of Asia Arena.

“Pasa niya (CJ Perez) yun. Tinira ko lang. Pinapractice ko yung shots na yun pero off ako this game. It’s just all guts na lang,” said the 6-foot-4 forward.

“I mean rhythm shots na yun eh. Kumbaga nasa rhythm na ko to take that shot, just lucky it went in. Thankful ako kay Kuya CJ for making that pass.”

That three-pointer was Gilas’ lone conversion from deep in the second half, but it came at the perfect time as the Philippines improved to 3-4 in the qualifiers.

Gilas is now just two games behind Iran, Jordan, and New Zealand, which are tied for second at 5-2.

Quiambao finished with 14 points and five rebounds, while Kai Sotto marked his return to the Philippine men’s national basketball team with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

CJ Perez also proved pivotal with 16 points and four rebounds, while Dwight Ramos contributed 14 points, five rebounds, and three assists.

AJ Edu added nine points and 10 rebounds.

The collective effort showed that the Philippines can still win at this stage despite the unfortunate absence of resident naturalized player Justin Brownlee, who believes that “he’s not that healthy yet” to return to action.

“Siyempre mas masaya kapag nandito si JB di ba? Pero ayun nga, all-Filipino, we just want to prove na kaya naming manalo sa aspect na ito,” said Quiambao, who plays for Goyang Sono in the Korean Basketball League.

A bigger test awaits Quiambao and the rest of Gilas Pilipinas on Sunday when they face Iran at 8 p.m., still at the Pasay venue.

The Iranians will be eager to bounce back after losing to New Zealand in overtime on Friday afternoon, 93-91.

“First of all, kailangan namin i-celebrate tonight yung panalo pero pagdating ng 12 o’clock mamaya, it’s just another day,” said Quiambao.

“Kailangan namin mag-prepare sa Iran and we know naman Iran, mas malakas sila on paper.”

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Tim Cone had been on the wrong side of too many close games lately.

So when Gilas Pilipinas finally found itself on the winning end of an overtime thriller, the veteran coach could only marvel at the way it all unfolded.

“Well, I mean it was fantastic.”

The 82-81 victory over Jordan on Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena ended a painful four-game losing skid for Gilas in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, where the Philippines suffered three- and four-point defeats to New Zealand in the first round.

After enduring those heartbreaking losses, Cone was simply grateful to finally experience a close game from the other side.

“It was fun to be a part of; it was fun to be on this side: winning,” he said.

” I know how tough it is; against New Zealand, we were on the other side of it in overtime and losing these really, really important World Cup qualifiers.”

The victory could easily have gone the other way, especially after the Philippines fell behind by double digits in the first half. But Cone’s adjustments, particularly his decision to go small and quick, helped spark Gilas’ comeback.

“I really believe in our big lineup, and we tried to go out there and overpower them. But it didn’t really work, so we went smaller and quicker.”

CJ Perez emerged as the catalyst for that shift, scoring 16 points on 50 percent shooting while helping Gilas raise the tempo on both ends of the floor.

“CJ led the charge, and he was able to get to the rim and really change the tempo of the game,” Cone said.

Perez’s impact went beyond his scoring, as he also assisted on Kevin Quiambao’s go-ahead three-pointer that gave Gilas its final lead of the night.

With plenty of players deserving of praise in what became a complete team effort, Cone also made sure to highlight his biggest star, Kai Sotto.

“It comes down to defense, and Kai came up big with that huge block at the end to win it for us,” Cone said.

Sotto finished with a double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds, but his biggest contribution came in the game’s final moments when he denied Jordan’s last attempt to preserve the one-point victory.

Perhaps the most uncanny part of the night, however, was how closely the game followed Cone’s pregame message.

Before tip-off, the Gilas coach wrote on the locker room whiteboard: “grind it – one point win.”

That prediction turned into reality several hours later.

“There’s a reason for that. When you’re working for a one-point win, you have to value every possession. That’s really the point of that, we’re not necessarily looking for a one-point win, but we’re trying to play as if it’s going to be that,” he explained.

“It means valuing each possession defensively and offensively.”

With the Philippines needing to win five of its remaining six games to keep its World Cup hopes alive, Cone believes that mindset will be crucial moving forward.

“But I certainly would have preferred a 10-point win. But at this point, we’re just trying to stay alive and keep fighting for that World Cup.”

The fight continues on Sunday, when Gilas Pilipinas faces Iran at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

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Akari-Rizal will represent the Philippines in the Women’s Basketball League Asia 2026 after the Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League champions were awarded a wild card slot for the continental club competition.

Akari-Rizal earned its place in the WBLA after surviving the Batangas Bluefire-New Zealand Valkyries in an epic three-game championship series to claim the WMPBL crown last July.

The Sparks will join five other league champions in the six-team tournament, which will be held in Bengaluru, India, from October 20 to 25, the FIBA Regional Office-Asia confirmed Thursday.

Joining Akari in the field are Sichuan Yuanda Meile of China, Denso Iris of Japan, KB Stars of South Korea, Cathay Life Pacific of Chinese Taipei, and Indian Railways, the champions of India.

Sichuan, the reigning Women’s Chinese Basketball Association champion, will look to extend China’s dominance in the WBLA to three straight titles.

Denso Iris earned Japan’s spot as the Women’s Japan Basketball League champion, while Cheongju KB Stars, who have Fil-Am Lexi Pana in their lineup, won the Women’s Korean Basketball League and Cathay Life Pacific topped the Women’s Super Basketball League.

Cathay Life Pacific is the only team in this year’s field to have appeared in the previous two editions of the WBLA.

(C) WMPBL

The 2026 tournament will mark the first FIBA Asia-level club competition hosted by an Indian city and the first edition of the WBLA to be staged outside China.

The inaugural WBLA was held in Sichuan in 2024, with Sichuan Yuanda Meile winning the title, while Dongguan hosted the 2025 edition and saw Dongguan New Century emerge as champion.

Bengaluru has extensive experience hosting FIBA Asia competitions, particularly in the women’s game. The city staged the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in 2017 and 2019, the FIBA Women’s U16 Asia Cup in 2017, and the FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup in 2018 and 2022.

It also hosted the former FIBA Asia U18 Championship in 2004, as well as the FIBA Asia General Assembly in 2019 and the FIBA Asia Mid-Term General Assembly in 2025.

FIBA is expected to announce the WBLA 2026 groupings and full schedule at a later date.

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