Gilas Pilipinas shook off the stubborn challenge of Iraq in the first half to claim a 66-57 victory and secure a berth in the qualification for the quarterfinals in the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Dwight Ramos took charge in the second half as the Filipinos put up a steely resolve on the defensive end to take command and finally barge into the win column after eight-point setbacks at the hands of Chinese-Taipei and New Zealand.

LIVE: Gilas Pilipinas vs Iraq – 2025 Fiba Asia Cup

Ramos finished with 21 points to take the scoring cudgels from a cold-shooting Justin Brownlee while grabbing five rebounds as Gilas finished Group D in third place with a 1-2 record.

Dwight Ramos and Gilas Pilipinas during a game against Iraq in the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup. –FIBA PHOTO

The Philippines will take on either host Saudi Arabia or Jordan in Monday’s playoff that will see the winner barging into the quarterfinals against the top team of Group A, which two-time defending champion Australia currently leads.

AJ Edu also performed well for Gilas, particularly on the defensive end, to chalk up nine points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

READ: Gilas Pilipinas looks to fix 3-point defense ahead of Iraq clash

Brownlee had only eight points on 3-of-12 shooting, but added seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Back-to-back threes from Ramos plus one from Brownlee gave Gilas the cushion it needed with a 44-35 lead in the third. Gilas also forced Iraq to only seven in that period which resulted in a 55-40 lead going into the fourth.

Prior to that, Gilas had to endure Iraq’s outside shooting, capitalizing on Gilas’ woes defending the three by hitting six of 13 in the first half to go up 11-5 and 18-2 in the first quarter.

A three by Ramos, however, to end the second enabled the Philippines to go into halftime all even with Iraq at 33-all.

Ali Ismael and Thulfiqar Hammoodi scored 13 points apiece for Iraq, which bowed out of the competition with a 0-3 record.