MANILA, Philippines -- Gilas Pilipinas is set to host the visiting Guam national squad led by San Miguel Beer's spitfire gunner Jericho Cruz at the iconic Blue Eagle gym inside the Ateneo de Manila University campus on Dec. 1 in the first window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas made the official announcement through its Facebook page on Tuesday.
The Philippine men squad mentored by Tim Cone, will kick off its 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on the road as Guam hosts Gilas at the Calvo Field House on November 28 in the opening round of their Group A match.
Gilas will then fly back to Manila for its home game against Cruz and Guam on December 1 at the Blue Eagle gym in Loyola Heights, Quezon City Former one-and-done University of the Philippines big man Quentin Millora-Brown is expected to make his highly-anticipated Gilas debut after being reclassified as a local by FIBA recently.
Tim Cone has said in a previous interview that the 6-foot-10 slot man, who previously played for Vanderbilt and The Citadel in the United States, will bring size and inside presence for Gilas as Kai Sotto continues to recover from a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) on his knee.
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Cone and Gilas Pilipinas will also come out with greater motivation since the national squad is coming off an underwhelming seventh place finish in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last August.
Members of Cone's Gilas pool will be led by naturalized Filipinos Justin Brownlee and Angelo Kouame, along with Barangay Ginebra mainstays Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson and recent addition RJ Abarrientos.
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Nine-time PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez of San Miguel Beer are also in the pool along with Chris Newsome of Meralco, TNT three-point specialist Calvin Oftana, along with Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, as well as Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo.
Ramos and Edu are currently playing in the Japan B.League, while Quiambao and Tamayo are playing in the Korean Basketball League.