Gilas Pilipinas Cebu hosting bid delayed due to booking scheduling woes

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebuano basketball fans will have to wait a little longer before seeing Gilas Pilipinas play on home soil after a scheduling conflict at the SM Seaside Arena prevented the city from hosting one of the team’s FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers this year.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) Executive Director Erika Dy revealed that she had pushed to bring Gilas’ fifth qualifying window to Cebu in late November, but the venue had already been booked for the Disney on Ice show.

READ: Australia routs Gilas, tops Group A in FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers

The fifth qualifying window, scheduled from Nov. 27 to 30, will see Gilas face Syria and Iran.

Dy disclosed the failed bid during the launch of the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2027 at the SM Seaside Arena, where Cebu was officially unveiled as the host of the country’s first-ever FIBA Women’s Asia Cup.

“We’re hoping for that also, because there are three qualifying windows in the second round for Gilas. The first one is already going to be in Mall of Asia Arena in the end of August,” said Dy.

READ: Gilas 3×3 men’s squad bows to China for bronze

“Yung pangatlong window which is in the end of November, I actually attempted na dalhin dito sa Cebu, but unfortunately naunahan ako sa Disney on Ice. I will push for the February window na sana madala dito, pero syempre depende pa kung papayag si FIBA.”

Despite the setback, Dy remains optimistic that Cebu could still host the sixth and final qualifying window in February 2027.

Should the proposal push through, Gilas is expected to play either Syria or Jordan in Cebu, although FIBA has yet to determine which nation will host the final qualifying window.

READ: Gilas Pilipinas drops 2OT heartbreaker to New Zealand in Fiba qualifiers

The possibility of staging the games in Cebu comes at a crucial time for Gilas Pilipinas, whose campaign to qualify for a fourth straight FIBA Basketball World Cup has become increasingly difficult.

Gilas dropped back-to-back games against New Zealand and Australia earlier this month, including a lopsided 92-42 defeat to the Australians in Perth, and carried a 2-4 record into the second round of the Asian Qualifiers.

READ: PBA to adopt Fiba rules to help Gilas program—but it has pros and cons

With the first-round results carrying over, every remaining game has become a must-win for the national team as it battles for one of the World Cup berths.

The top three teams at the end of the second round will automatically qualify for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup, while the fourth-placed team must beat the other teams via a tiebreaker, should their records come out tied in the standings in Group F.

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