GILAS Pilipinas tries to redeem itself from a heartbreaking loss to New Zealand when it battles world basketball powerhouse Australia in Window 3 of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers on Monday at the RAC Arena in Perth.
Game time is set at 6:30 p.m. Manila time, with the Philippines battling a Boomers side that administered a massive
124-52 beating of Guam, where the world no. 6- ranked squad knocked down a World Cup record 24 threes.
The 72-point victory is also ranked as the biggesy winning margin in the tournament.
Australia is locked and loaded and is a solid favorite to beat Gilas, which pushed New Zealand to its limit before bowing in double overtime, 106-102.
The Boomers drew 22 points from Tyrese Proctor, who was red-hot from downtown with six threes against Guam.
The host squad also have Angus Glover, Bryce Cotton and Jack McVeigh to lean on.
For Gilas coach Tim Cone, his hope is to see the Filipinos put up the needed fight in an effort to arrest a three-game losing skid.
Youngsters Juan Gomez de Liaño, Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo played their guts out in the narrow loss to the Tall Blacks, stepping up largely after naturalized player Justin Brownlee.
The 38-year-old Brownlee struggled mightily against the Tall Blacks, scoring just five points on three field goal attempts.
Cone hopes to see Brownlee bounce back, though a collective effort is needed if Gilas even hopes to beat a souped-up Australian squad.
Australia leads the way at Group A with its unblemished record of 5-0.
The Tall Blacks improved to solo second at 3-2, while carries a 2-3 record.
The Philippines suffered a 93-67 loss to Australia during its March meeting in Manila.