Gilas Opens Its Title Defense Against Bahrain
Gilas Pilipinas tips off its Asian Games gold medal defense against Bahrain on September 11, 12 noon Manila time, at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan. It is the first game of the men’s 5×5 basketball tournament for the Philippines, and the first real test of a roster built almost entirely around PBA talent.
A Roster That Didn’t Win the Last One
The Philippines is the defending champion. In Hangzhou in 2023, this program erased a 20 point deficit to beat China in the semifinal, then closed out Jordan for gold. That version of Gilas is not walking back onto the court in Nagoya. Coach Tim Cone’s 2026 squad plays without Kai Sotto, Justin Brownlee, Ange Kouame, and several other names from the previous title run, with the retired June Mar Fajardo also absent. The team only reached full strength this week, with forward Calvin Oftana arriving in Aichi Prefecture on Wednesday to complete the 12-man roster. Whatever this team does in Nagoya, it does with almost none of the players who won gold the last time around.
The First Obstacle
Bahrain, ranked 77th in the world, is not an easy opener. Four naturalized players anchor their lineup, led by 7-foot former NBA big man Jakarr Sampson. Gilas lead deputy Richard Del Rosario has already flagged him as the matchup to watch, saying he can shoot from the outside and plays physically strong. For a Gilas team still figuring out its own rotations, that is the kind of size and experience that turns an opener into a real test.
What Defending Gold Actually Looks Like
Winning it once was one campaign. Keeping it means going through Kazakhstan on September 12, then China on September 14 in a rematch of the 2023 semifinal that decided the road to gold, before quarterfinals on September 16, semifinals on September 18, and the medal games on September 20. Every one of those games is a chance for a mostly new team to either prove it belongs with the champions who came before it, or lose the title in its first real defense.
A Different Kind of Pressure
Nobody on this roster stood on the podium in Hangzhou. They still have to defend what happened there. That gap between who won the last title and who is chasing the next one is what makes this Gilas team worth watching, starting with Bahrain.
