Gilas battles China with quarterfinal berth at stake
Gilas Pilipinas holds control of its own destiny against China on Monday when it seeks entry to the quarterfinals of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games men’s basketball competitions.
Coach Tim Cone’s squad will have to play its cards right regardless of the outcome in the 12 noon Manila time match to wrap up the group stage at Aichi International Arena.
Cone, however, would rather embrace the challenge of facing a Chinese side that has won its first two games with impunity, coupled with perhaps a chip on its shoulder.
“We know we have an uphill climb, but we’re not daunted by it, we’re not afraid of it,” said Cone ahead of the first meeting between both teams since the Asian Games semifinals the Filipinos won three years ago.
“We’re gonna meet it head-on and see what we can do,” added Cone as Gilas tries to keep it close against a China team that beat Kazakhstan by 38 and Bahrain by 46.
Things seem simple for Gilas to make it past group play without a hitch.
A win simply puts Gilas in the last eight, but it can also advance depending on the margin of defeat.
Sunday’s games gave Gilas an exact number it will need to avoid in order to keep its jittery bid to retain the gold alive.
The Philippines must not lose by more than 38 points, or face an early elimination along with a public outcry from fans who have been critical of the way Gilas has performed ever since it was blown out twice by South Korea in a pair of tuneup games in Suwon.
Gilas currently sits in third in Group C at 1-1 and is well inside the race to secure the two best third-placers from among the three groups.
Jordan and Saudi Arabia ended their group stage campaign with identical 1-2 slates, with the latter at a disadvantage with a quotient of -11 despite Sunday’s 100-89 win over Indonesia in Group A.
Jordan has secured its place in the quarters despite falling to Iran, 81-68, in Group B with a point differential of -5.
Gilas was able to put itself in a comfortable scenario, in spite of dropping its opening assignment to Bahrain, 89-85, when it was able to narrow down the margin in the final minutes from 16 down.
Saturday saw Gilas keep its chances by beating Kazakhstan, 109-78, with Robert Bolick firing 13 of his 20 points in the first half.
But Jerrick Ahanmisi’s hot shooting in the fourth quarter enabled Gilas to extend its lead until the final buzzer, which was beneficial in terms of the scenario it now has.
“We just [started] hitting good shots, and Jerrick gave us momentum with his shots,” said Cone. “We’re concerned about that third place, top-two position so every point becomes important [and] we don’t want to put our foot off our pedal.”
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