Justin Brownlee (No. 32) has been consistent for Gilas, whose back is against the wall heading into match with Iraq.—FIBA.COM PHOTO .
Dropping the primary two games of the Fiba Asia Cup surely comes at a value, and Gilas Pilipinas could have to undergo the wringer as a way to go on a deep run in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Gilas goes into Saturday’s 4 p.m. (Philippine time) contest with Iraq at King Abdullah Sports City with a way of desperation after its comeback attempts fell short against Chinese-Taipei on Wednesday after which Recent Zealand on Thursday night, when the Kiwis handed the Philippines a 94-86 defeat.
“The tournament’s not over us,” embattled national team coach Tim Cone said, referring to the duty of beating the Iraqis to give you the chance to enter qualification for a spot within the quarterfinals. The flip side of that’s taking a shock loss, which can shove the Filipinos to the exits.
Gilas, though, is anticipated to win, and in doing that, will finish third in Group D at 1-2 and can tackle the second-place team from Group C, which could possibly be Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia emerged as a possible Gilas foe after taking down Jordan, 77-73, that put each teams in a tie for second at 1-1. China leads the group at 2-0.
And if the Philippines does find yourself getting a win in qualification, the going will get even tougher with the quarterfinal opponent being the highest team from Group A, which could potentially be Australia, the winner of the 2017 and 2022 editions, or Lebanon.
“We just need to keep our heads up going forward and don’t sink in these last two losses. We are able to’t afford that,” Cone said. “There’s still more to do, and we’re gonna need to be ready for our next game.”
Being ready would perhaps mean avoiding one other situation of getting to play catch-up yet again.
Against Recent Zealand, Gilas fell behind by 18 points and spent the entire second half attempting to mount a comeback. The Filipinos, led by Justin Brownlee and Dwight Ramos, almost did.
Brownlee torched the Kiwis with 37 points, including a three-pointer that pulled Gilas to inside three, 85-82, with 3:52 left, as Gilas had momentum on its side that sent a predominantly Filipino crowd going bananas.
But Recent Zealand got the large baskets courtesy of heady guard Taylor Britt, at the same time as Gilas succumbed to turnovers and defensive lapses that compounded matters.
“I assumed we played higher within the second half, but we weren’t in a position to recover from the hump,” Cone lamented. “We [made] a few turnovers down the stretch that prevented us from really making the sport tight.”
Ramos had 19 points, 4 rebounds and two steals while Scottie Thompson and AJ Edu also contributed within the comeback try with their defense and rebounding. Their efforts, nevertheless, didn’t net a victory.
June Mar Fajardo’s 11 points and 4 rebounds atoned for the disappointing showing against Chinese-Taipei, and if that’s a silver lining, then Gilas hopes to see at the least the identical with the team on the brink.