Gilas Wins vs Jordan but Faces Tamayo Ankle Scare
Gilas Pilipinas walked out of an 82-81 nail-biter against Jordan with the win it desperately wanted to start the second round of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. It did not leave unscathed.
In a game dripping with drama, the sight that silenced the Filipino crowd came at the 7:58 mark of the third quarter. Carl Tamayo rose, landed on the foot of a Jordanian defender, and crumpled to the floor. One wrong step, and the entire mood changed.
The 6-foot-8 forward grimaced, grabbed at his ankle, then forced himself up and headed straight to the Gilas bench. No theatrics, no attempt to test it out. He never checked back in.
Up to that point, Tamayo had been quietly carving out a strong night. Eight points on the board, a confident presence in the frontcourt, and a buzzer-beating three to close the first half that sent Gilas into the locker room with a jolt of momentum. It looked like the kind of game that could reassert his place in the rotation. One misstep turned it into a question mark.
The rest of Gilas had no time to dwell on it. The contest tightened, the pressure rose, and the closing stretch belonged to the guards and the big man in the middle. CJ Perez attacked with trademark fearlessness, Kevin Quiambao made big plays under duress, and Kai Sotto anchored the effort as Gilas clung to the slimmest of winning margins. The final buzzer confirmed the escape. The concern over Tamayo lingered.
Injury Update
Head coach Tim Cone cut straight to the point afterward. The ankle is sprained. It is swollen. Tamayo can walk, but that is where the certainty ends for now.
“Right now, he can walk. But beyond that, it’s swollen. It’s a sprained ankle,” Cone said in the post-game press conference. “We’ll give him the treatment tonight, and tomorrow and we’ll see how he is at that point.”
The timing is brutal. Iran awaits on Sunday, another physical test in a qualifying window that offers no soft spots. Gilas needs bodies, and it needs size. Tamayo gives both, along with floor spacing that stretches defenses and opens driving lanes for guards like Perez.
If the 25-year-old cannot suit up against Team Melli, Cone is already eyeing the next men up. The coaching staff kept Justin Arana and RJ Abarrientos on the extended list after they were the final cuts from the official lineup, and their names are suddenly back in play.
“In the meantime, we still have RJ and Justin on the list,” Cone said. “Those two guys could fill in for Carl, if necessary. Hopefully, it won’t be necessary.”
That hope now hangs over the short turnaround before Iran. Gilas survived Jordan by a single point. The next challenge may demand the same resolve—this time, possibly without one of its key forwards.
