GILAS PILIPINAS | NOVEMBER 2026 WINDOW ROSTER

12 minutes ago

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In the latter part of this month, Gilas Pilipinas will battle Syria and Iran to further its campaign for the 2027 FIBA World Cup. Initially, we had the unfortunate task of facing Australia and New Zealand. However, one thing that's working in our favor at the moment is that it's now Syria, Jordan, and Iran's turn to face these powerhouses.

I've been saying this since the start of Group E: Gilas Pilipinas must win all six of its games, not just to qualify for the World Cup but also to advance with some big-time momentum. I think Gilas has developed this tendency to simply "hang in there," but the team really needs to start changing its "pasang-awa" mentality, especially after the events that led to the 2026 Asian Games debacle.

Anyway, it's insane to look at the team's roster and see just one Barangay Ginebra player. The roster has an average age of 28.3, and this is the first time that neither Justin Brownlee nor June Mar Fajardo is featured on the team.

Finally, we have a new naturalized player in Bennie Boatwright. Not only are Quentin Millora-Brown and Mike Phillips back, but athletic freak Rhenz Abando is also here to fill the gap left by the injured Carl Tamayo.

I mean, this is the first time the Philippines is represented by players from the PBA, CBA, KBL, and Japan B.League all at the same time. Who would've thought this would become a normal thing in 2026?

NOTE: STATS AS OF NOVEMBER 13, 2026

RHENZ ABANDO

YEAR OF BIRTH | 1998

LAST PLAYED FOR GILAS | 2023 FIBA WORLD CUP

CURRENT TEAM | ANYANG RED BOOSTERS - KBL

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
13	10.4	5.2	1.2	0.9	1.5

BENNIE BOATWRIGHT

YEAR OF BIRTH | 1996

LAST PLAYED FOR GILAS | DEBUTING PLAYER

CURRENT TEAM | FUJIAN STURGEONS - CBA

GP	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
8	11.2	6.4	1.1	0.2	0.6