Games on Monday
(King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah) 2 p.m. (7 p.m. Manila Time) – Chinese-Taipei vs Jordan
7 p.m. (12 a.m. Tuesday Manila Time) – Saudi Arabia vs Philippines
AS soothing as that feel-good 66-57 win over Iraq at the end of group play was, Gilas Pilipinas’ situation in the FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia remains the same.
Do or die.
And the Nationals are navigating this next part of the campaign — a KO duel with the host Saudis for a quarterfinal seat — with the same mindset that has carried them through despite a fumbling 0-2 start in Group D.
Fight, fight, fight.
“What I like about our team is that we just don’t quit. Back home, we call it the never-say-die attitude,” coach Tim Cone said his Gilas troops snapped out of their funk after numbing defeats to Chinese-Taipei (87-95) and New Zealand (86-94).
“We have that. I think that’s very evident on this team and we hope that will be the one that’ll get us forward.”
By finishing third in Group D with 1-2, the Filipinos earned their place in the Qualification to the Quarterfinals phase against the Saudis, who took No. 2 in Group C with 2-1.
At stake in this you-or-me gig slated 7 p.m. on Monday before an expected full house at the King Abdullah Sports City (12 a.m. on Tuesday Manila time) is a Last-8 date with the topnotcher of Group A, tipped to be three-peat-seeking Australia (2-0 at presstime).
“It’s great to advance (to the play-in for a quarterfinal spot). We’re definitely not satisfied, though,” top gun Justin Brownlee said in an interview on One Sports.
“We got a lot more work to do, there’s a lot of tough teams ahead but whatever challenges lie ahead we’re just ready to take them on.”
Mr. Brownlee had his worst game of the tournament against Iraq, limping with only eight points on three-of-12 shooting after averaging 28 in the two losing outings.
But Dwight Ramos fired 21, doing the most damage in Gilas’ telling 22-7 salvo in the third, as the rest led by AJ Edu and Scottie Thompson stepped up in other aspects.
“We have to use Justin (Brownlee) not just to be a scorer for us but we can play off of him because he does draw so much attention,” Mr. Cone said in anticipation of opponents’ hound-Brownlee schemes.
Mr. Cone hopes from the Iraq game, the Nationals will continue playing to their strengths, especially on the defensive end.
“I really believe this is the kind of game we kind of envisioned we would play, where it’s a little bit more low-scoring. We’re battling for every possession. Every basket is crucial and I thought that’s what we did (against Iraq) and that’s what we’re going to expect from ourselves going forward.”
But one concern going to the clash with the home squad is the status of Calvin Oftana, who suffered an ankle injury last Saturday. — Olmin Leyba
