2026 PBA Governor's Cup

[bisdak40]

Seeing how lopsided the score, i think Bharain was playing all local or at least one naturalized player on their lineup so the score wasn't close. I have read an article on my social media feed that this coming Asian Games, Bharain will be bringing with them 4 naturalized players.

So there’s no limit on naturalized players? I thought only one naturalized player was allowed, so I was surprised to see that they reportedly have four.

If that’s really allowed, then they might no longer show much of their own brand of basketball, especially if most of the starting lineup are naturalized players. And if there’s really no limit, then countries that are weak in basketball could simply bring in more naturalized players just to become competitive.

Yup, there is no limit of naturalized players that you can send to the Asian Games unlike in the FIBA where you could only bring one naturalized player. For Bharain, this will be the first time that they would send multiple naturalized players if i'm not mistaken and for us, we always do that, some of us don't just realized that we are doing it because we think that those fil-ams that we were sending in the past are locals but they were counted as naturalized players.

Our neighboring countries here in Southeast Asia are also beginning to adapt that scenario. I remembered very well in the SEA games where Cambodia fought in the finals against Gilas and Cambodia's starting five were all naturalized players and that game was intense but still Philippines won that one.

[Russlenat]

Our neighboring countries here in Southeast Asia are also beginning to adapt that scenario. I remembered very well in the SEA games where Cambodia fought in the finals against Gilas and Cambodia's starting five were all naturalized players and that game was intense but still Philippines won that one.

I saw that one, they were so confident that they would beat our team, but good thing we were able to give them a reality check and hand them an L.

However, this time is different because there’s no Justin Brownlee. I wonder how we will be able to compete against a team with several naturalized players using mostly PBA players, especially when some of our best Filipino players are playing overseas. I just hope I’m overthinking this.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

Seeing how lopsided the score, i think Bharain was playing all local or at least one naturalized player on their lineup so the score wasn't close. I have read an article on my social media feed that this coming Asian Games, Bharain will be bringing with them 4 naturalized players.

So there’s no limit on naturalized players? I thought only one naturalized player was allowed, so I was surprised to see that they reportedly have four.

If that’s really allowed, then they might no longer show much of their own brand of basketball, especially if most of the starting lineup are naturalized players. And if there’s really no limit, then countries that are weak in basketball could simply bring in more naturalized players just to become competitive.

Yup, there is no limit of naturalized players that you can send to the Asian Games unlike in the FIBA where you could only bring one naturalized player. For Bharain, this will be the first time that they would send multiple naturalized players if i'm not mistaken and for us, we always do that, some of us don't just realized that we are doing it because we think that those fil-ams that we were sending in the past are locals but they were counted as naturalized players.

Our neighboring countries here in Southeast Asia are also beginning to adapt that scenario. I remembered very well in the SEA games where Cambodia fought in the finals against Gilas and Cambodia's starting five were all naturalized players and that game was intense but still Philippines won that one.

This is true, But, They are half blood Filipino and the only problem is that they have no Philippine passport before they age 16. That is the basic rule for that. You should have your Ph passport before your 16th Bday.
This is one of t he biggest problem we are facing coz most of our Phil-Am players dont have it, Even Jordan Clarkson. Unlike with other country like last tournament, t heir naturalize player dont have thier bloods.

Well after all of this, all we can say is, LABAN! PUSO!

[Sanitough]

Well after all of this, all we can say is, LABAN! PUSO!

Hopefully we will win this one, at least the first game since that looks easier on paper. I’m already looking for the betting line, but it’s still not available even though the game is tomorrow. So we really have no choice here, we have no naturalized player. Let’s just hope our players bring their best and still make the country proud.

here's the head to head record, https://www.sportytrader.com/en/results-live/philippines-bahrain-8737561/

[bisdak40]

Our neighboring countries here in Southeast Asia are also beginning to adapt that scenario. I remembered very well in the SEA games where Cambodia fought in the finals against Gilas and Cambodia's starting five were all naturalized players and that game was intense but still Philippines won that one.

I saw that one, they were so confident that they would beat our team, but good thing we were able to give them a reality check and hand them an L.

However, this time is different because there’s no Justin Brownlee. I wonder how we will be able to compete against a team with several naturalized players using mostly PBA players, especially when some of our best Filipino players are playing overseas. I just hope I’m overthinking this.

The game tomorrow against Bahrain will be an exciting one for fans rooting for Gilas and for the bettors as well as we can't directly tell that Gilas will blew out Bahrain like we did in the past because of their 4 towering naturalized players. Odds not yet out but definitely i will place my bet once odds are out and attractive for Gilas.

Off topic a bit, there have been some upsets in the Asian games today as Chinese Taipie beat Jordan 83-80 while Qatar beat Iran 59-53.

[Russlenat]

Our neighboring countries here in Southeast Asia are also beginning to adapt that scenario. I remembered very well in the SEA games where Cambodia fought in the finals against Gilas and Cambodia's starting five were all naturalized players and that game was intense but still Philippines won that one.

I saw that one, they were so confident that they would beat our team, but good thing we were able to give them a reality check and hand them an L.

However, this time is different because there’s no Justin Brownlee. I wonder how we will be able to compete against a team with several naturalized players using mostly PBA players, especially when some of our best Filipino players are playing overseas. I just hope I’m overthinking this.

The game tomorrow against Bahrain will be an exciting one for fans rooting for Gilas and for the bettors as well as we can't directly tell that Gilas will blew out Bahrain like we did in the past because of their 4 towering naturalized players. Odds not yet out but definitely i will place my bet once odds are out and attractive for Gilas.

Off topic a bit, there have been some upsets in the Asian games today as Chinese Taipie beat Jordan 83-80 while Qatar beat Iran 59-53.

Would it really be considered an upset? I mean, Chinese Taipei is not a bad team, so I can see them beating Jordan.

For Qatar, I’m not sure about their current ranking, but we were able to beat Iran before because of our size, so maybe Qatar used a similar strategy. Iran has size as well, but they are also comfortable shooting from outside. I didn’t see the game, but I’m guessing their outside shots just weren’t falling.

[Maslate]

Betting odds are up now, and as of this moment, the Philippines is the heavy underdog.

Current line is PH to win at 3.50 while Bahrain is at 1.32, so what bisdak mentioned about Bahrain having 4 naturalized players might really be true, and that could be one of the reasons why the odds are displayed like this. The handicap is not available yet, but I’m guessing Gilas should be around +10.5 with this kind of ML odds.

Now the question is, can we still trust Gilas to win this one?

[bisdak40]

Betting odds are up now, and as of this moment, the Philippines is the heavy underdog.

Current line is PH to win at 3.50 while Bahrain is at 1.32, so what bisdak mentioned about Bahrain having 4 naturalized players might really be true, and that could be one of the reasons why the odds are displayed like this. The handicap is not available yet, but I’m guessing Gilas should be around +10.5 with this kind of ML odds.

Now the question is, can we still trust Gilas to win this one?

So this would be first time that Gilas Pilipinas will be the heavy underdog against Bahrain and i like that. Though Bahrain have those 4 towering naturalized players but our own Gilas has the system instill in them and the heart of the champion, hope they will show us that tonight. Putting some money on the ML odds but i have a bigger bet with the handicap +7.5 @1.94.

BTW, Calvin Oftana did joined the Gilas team replacing Adrian Nocum because of injury.

[arwin100]

Betting odds are up now, and as of this moment, the Philippines is the heavy underdog.

Current line is PH to win at 3.50 while Bahrain is at 1.32, so what bisdak mentioned about Bahrain having 4 naturalized players might really be true, and that could be one of the reasons why the odds are displayed like this. The handicap is not available yet, but I’m guessing Gilas should be around +10.5 with this kind of ML odds.

Now the question is, can we still trust Gilas to win this one?

So this would be first time that Gilas Pilipinas will be the heavy underdog against Bahrain and i like that. Though Bahrain have those 4 towering naturalized players but our own Gilas has the system instill in them and the heart of the champion, hope they will show us that tonight. Putting some money on the ML odds but i have a bigger bet with the handicap +7.5 @1.94.

BTW, Calvin Oftana did joined the Gilas team replacing Adrian Nocum because of injury.

For what I know this is really the first time Gilas became a heavy underdog between this match up. But I think its fine, since people watching that game would understand on why Gilas might lose that game, since imagine they brought four high caliber players for this tournament just to gain an advantage against their opponents.

Also upon browsing Youtube it seems that OneSports have live telecast of this game.





The countdown already starts, watch here https://www.youtube.com/live/TLhsga97Hrk

[bisdak40]

And Gilas Pilipinas dropped its first game in the Asian Games against Bahrain 89-85. By the looks of it, seems that advancing to the next round becomes dimmer unless we beat Kazakhstan and Kazakhstan beat Bahrain by double digit but that is a slim possibility.

On the positive side, my bet won. Bahrain were always leading by double digits in the second half but that mini-run by Gilas in the fourth quarter saved my bet.

[LogitechMouse]

And Gilas Pilipinas dropped its first game in the Asian Games against Bahrain 89-85. By the looks of it, seems that advancing to the next round becomes dimmer unless we beat Kazakhstan and Kazakhstan beat Bahrain by double digit but that is a slim possibility.

On the positive side, my bet won. Bahrain were always leading by double digits in the second half but that mini-run by Gilas in the fourth quarter saved my bet.
---

Congratulations on your win, but not congratulations to our Gilas team. As expected, we lost to the Bahrain which is 80th on basketball rankings. Well, that 4 import roster surely had some major impact towards their win.

I didn't watch the game, but at one point, I saw that the lead of Bahrain went to as high as 15 points. I didn't even bother to watch it, but it's surprising that our team only lost by 4 points. Not being pessimistic on my part, but it's just that I don't see our 12-man roster as somebody who can defend our title to the likes of China, and now even on Bahrain. Sorry for that.

Anyway, despite the loss, Oftana exploded in this game scoring 31 points and had 6 threes. He's the last-minute replacement of Brownlee and he delivered. I guess this is just the good thing that happened in this game. I'm hoping that this performance of him will carry over against China, and other players must step up as well if they want to win against a powerhouse team like China.

[Sanitough]

I thought Gilas would really lose by a blowout here, but I’m happy they were able to make a comeback in the fourth, although they still came up short.

It’s really difficult to beat that kind of lineup, they were bigger, taller, and had several naturalized players. But that’s alright, at least now we know what kind of competition we are dealing with. Maybe next time we also need to bring more naturalized players if the rules allow it.

Hopefully the SBP can afford that kind of preparation, or maybe I should say the government should also give more support since they are representing the country.

[Maslate]

Hopefully the SBP can afford that kind of preparation, or maybe I should say the government should also give more support since they are representing the country.

If there’s one that should invest more, it should be the government. But with all the corruption issues in the Philippines, I wouldn’t really expect that kind of support to happen.

They are often quick to take credit when an athlete succeeds, but the actual funding and support can still be lacking. Just look at Alex Eala, who is already becoming popular internationally, yet we still hear concerns about the lack of government support. So for Gilas, a lot of the support still comes from private sponsors, particularly big PBA team owners. We actually have talented players, we just lack enough support and development. We also can’t put all the blame on the players when we lose, especially when other countries continue upgrading their programs while we struggle to keep up.

[bisdak40]

Anyway, despite the loss, Oftana exploded in this game scoring 31 points and had 6 threes. He's the last-minute replacement of Brownlee and he delivered. I guess this is just the good thing that happened in this game. I'm hoping that this performance of him will carry over against China, and other players must step up as well if they want to win against a powerhouse team like China.

Calvin Oftana exploded for 31 points yesterday and he was the lone hope against Bahrain but unfortunately Gilas fell short. If only there was enough time left, Gilas could have completed the comeback as the bigs of Bahrain were gassed out but it is what it is, Gilas lost and we need to bounce back today against Kazakhstan.

I don't know if the 12 point spread is justifiable but i still did go for Gilas here. Kazakhstan didn't have a naturalized player as all players in their roster are all locals so this means that we have a chance here against them. The last time Gilas played against Kazakhstan was in 2019 in the FIBA qualifier and Gilas beat them 93-75.

[Sanitough]

I don't know if the 12 point spread is justifiable but i still did go for Gilas here. Kazakhstan didn't have a naturalized player as all players in their roster are all locals so this means that we have a chance here against them. The last time Gilas played against Kazakhstan was in 2019 in the FIBA qualifier and Gilas beat them 93-75.

This is very tempting, especially since Gilas is coming off a loss in their first game. They should be able to bounce back stronger in this one.

They may not necessarily win, but I think they have a good chance to cover the spread. But if we really believe they can win outright, then might as well go directly to the moneyline. I guess this game starts at 6 PM tonight. Good luck guys, hopefully PUSO finally gets the win here.

[Maslate]

Watching the game now, I can say Gilas really doesn’t have much chemistry yet. Bad news as well, according to the commentators, Bolick might be limited or may not be able to play much because of an injury.

But I also noticed Kazakhstan is not really shooting well. Yes, they are taller, but their shots are not falling. I think we still have a shot tonight since both teams are not really playing that well. So that -12.5 might be a bit overvalued. I think taking Gilas live, either on the spread or even ML if the odds are good, could be worth the risk.

live here.

Code:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13_axISAXKU

[Questat]

This is very tempting, especially since Gilas is coming off a loss in their first game. They should be able to bounce back stronger in this one.

They may not necessarily win, but I think they have a good chance to cover the spread. But if we really believe they can win outright, then might as well go directly to the moneyline. I guess this game starts at 6 PM tonight. Good luck guys, hopefully PUSO finally gets the win here.

Moneyline is very small, and Gilas is favored for a reason because Kazakhstan is not really a strong team. They don’t even have a naturalized player, so this is basically local players vs local players.

As of now in the third quarter, Gilas is already leading by double digits. They should be able to cover this spread, especially if they can have a strong second half.

Good luck to those who still bet on Gilas despite the spread being high.

[Botnake]

Jerrick Ahanmisi was unconscious out there. He made like 5 straight 3-pointers, although one didn’t count because of an offensive foul by Bates. Still, his shooting was really consistent. I think Gilas should consider having him because he is really a shooter. He can bring the energy back, especially when the team is behind and his shots are falling.

What a game. Gilas completely dominated Kazakhstan and won by 31 points.

[Sanitough]

This is very tempting, especially since Gilas is coming off a loss in their first game. They should be able to bounce back stronger in this one.

They may not necessarily win, but I think they have a good chance to cover the spread. But if we really believe they can win outright, then might as well go directly to the moneyline. I guess this game starts at 6 PM tonight. Good luck guys, hopefully PUSO finally gets the win here.

Moneyline is very small, and Gilas is favored for a reason because Kazakhstan is not really a strong team. They don’t even have a naturalized player, so this is basically local players vs local players.

I misread it, I thought Gilas was the underdog, but still all good. Even if they were the heavy favorite, they were able to cover the spread without a problem. The second half was really dominating, and those 3-point shots from Ahanmisi really helped them pull away. Big win by Gilas.

But the real challenge is against China, and honestly, I’m not expecting too much there.

As of now in the third quarter, Gilas is already leading by double digits. They should be able to cover this spread, especially if they can have a strong second half.

Good luck to those who still bet on Gilas despite the spread being high.

bisdak40 got that one right.

[angrybirdy]

Watching the game now, I can say Gilas really doesn’t have much chemistry yet. Bad news as well, according to the commentators, Bolick might be limited or may not be able to play much because of an injury.

But I also noticed Kazakhstan is not really shooting well. Yes, they are taller, but their shots are not falling. I think we still have a shot tonight since both teams are not really playing that well. So that -12.5 might be a bit overvalued. I think taking Gilas live, either on the spread or even ML if the odds are good, could be worth the risk.

live here.

Code:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13_axISAXKU

PH vs. Bahrain game yesterday was incredibly close. Honestly, I bet on Gilas because I believe they have the potential to defeat any team regardless of how tall, strong, or physically dominant their opponents are.
That minimal score points shows that Gilas was right there in the game and At the same time, it could also mean that Bahrain executed better when it mattered most. In a super close scores like that, even the smallest mistakes can make a big impact... Also, one thing that noticed during the live competition was the amount of criticism directed toward Gilas. what concerns me even more is that a lot of the negativity seemed to come from Filipinos themselves. where is that support when they need it the most? I still believe Gilas will come back stronger and continue fighting, even with some of their players dealing with injuries.
Now, let’s see what happens in the Ph vs. Kazakhstan game. I’m still betting on Gilas :p