GILAS Pilipinas just found itself in a tough situation after ending up being bracketed alongside powerhouse teams Australia and New Zealand in the coming Asia-Oceania qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA World Cup.
The Filipinos landed in Group A together with the Boomers and Tall Blacks following the official drawing of lots early Wednesday morning (Manila time) at the Al Hazm in Doha, Qatar.
Completing the Group A bracket was Guam, which features San Miguel Beer guard Jericho Cruz.
Australia is currently ranked no.7 in the world, while New Zealand is at no. 22
Gilas stands at no. 34 in the FIBA rankings.
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National men's team deputy coach Sean Chambers represented the country in the draw proceedings co-supervised by FIBA Global Ambassador and retired NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony.
The rest of the brackets were composed of Japan, China, South Korea, and Chinese Taipei in Group B, and Iran, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq in Group C.
Comprising Group D are Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, India, and host Qatar.
Six windows make up the home-and-away tournament that kicks off in late November.
The top three teams in each bracket advance in the second round, where teams in Groups A and C will be consolidated, the same with those in Groups B and D.
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First round records will be carried over to the next phase.
The top three teams in each group along with the fourth best placed team and host Qatar will represent Asia-Oceania in the FIBA World Cup two years from now.(RG)
