The point of no return is upon Gilas Pilipinas.
Whatever hope remains, its flickering embers must be fanned on Sunday (Aug. 27).
Failing to get the job done in its first game against the Dominican Republic, the Philippines is in dire need of a victory to keep its bid to advance to the next round alive.
But head coach Chot Reyes and the rest of the crew are unfazed as they tangle against the African qualifier.
Angola in the continuation of Group A action in the 2023 FIBA World Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Surprisingly, a ray of optimism shone through ahead of the 8 p.m. clash against the Angolans after Gilas Pilipinas held its ground and was even tantalizingly close to pulling off the massive upset against the Karl-Anthony Towns-led Dominicans.
Serving as a curtain-raiser to the all-important clash is the equally mouth-watering collision between opening-day winners Italy and Dominican Republic at 4 p.m.
For three and a half quarters, the Filipinos were in the face of the world no. 23 with Towns carrying his team home in the final three minutes when fellow NBA player Jordan Clarkson fouled out.
Reyes, however, believed it could have been a different story if Gilas Pilipinas was only able to limit its turnovers and control the boards – something the Filipinos must address against the equally desperate African qualifier.
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
4 p.m. — Italy vs Dominican Republic
8 p.m. — Gilas Pilipinas vs Angola
(SM Mall of Asia Arena)
4:45 p.m. — Montenegro vs Egypt
8:30 p.m. — Lithuania vs Mexico
(Okinawa Arena)
4:30 p.m. — Australia vs Germany
8:10 p.m. — Japan vs Finland
(Indonesia Arena)
5:45 p.m. — Lebanon vs Canada
9: 30 p.m. — France vs Latvia
“We had 19 turnovers and that was big. We shot the ball well. We shot the ball better than Dominican (Republic), but they got a lot more attempts than we did so the story was the 19 turnovers and we gave up 17 offensive rebounds and that was it,” Reyes pointed out.
If there was something about the game that pleased Reyes, though, it was the fact that his big men – AJ Edu and June Mar Fajardo, in particular – didn’t shy away from the spotlight on the world stage. Fajardo was a force underneath finishing with 16 points while Edu put on a tough defensive stand against Towns who had to bleed for all of his 26 points.
The two bigs’ confidence will be huge for Gilas Pilipinas especially when facing another NBA-caliber player Bruno Fernando of Angola.
Seven-foot-three center Kai Sotto didn’t see action after a brief starting appearance against the Dominicans, while Japeth Aguilar never got his game going. Both are expected to see prominent exposure this time.
Of course, Clarkson would be the focal point of the attack after dropping 28 points in his World Cup debut although his fouls and turnovers (eight) are something Gilas coaches are surely taking a closer look at.
Angola, on the other hand, is no pushover as despite falling to Italy, 81-67, the lead was not an indication of how tight the game was especially in the first three quarters.
Aside from Fernando, who had 13 points, Childe Dundao poses a huge threat against Gilas Pilipinas after finishing with 19 points against the Azzurri.
A victory over Angola would be a repeat triumph for the Philippines against an African opponent in the World Cup.
In 2014 in Seville, Spain, the Philippines, led by 6-foot-11 naturalized player Andray Blatche and sharpshooting point guard Jimmy Alapag, defeated Senegal in overtime 81-79 for its first World Cup victory in 40 years.
That victory, while rightly celebrated, didn’t save Gilas Philippines from slipping into the classification round where it wound up 21st. A win over Angola, however, will be extremely critical since it will revive hopes for the country’s bid to advance to the next round with a shot at securing an Olympic bid in Paris next year.
Up next for Gilas is world no. 10 Italy, which could opt to rest its key players for the second round should it succeed in making it 2-0 in the Group Phase against Dominican Republic.