AFTER A spirited effort in their first game, the Gilas Pilipinas dropped its second straight assignment at the 2023 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Basketball World Cup to Angola, 70-80. Despite a comeback attempt late in the fourth quarter, the African powerhouse’s hot shooting and the co-hosts’ offensive struggles proved to be the difference in tonight’s game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Jordan Clarkson once again led the Philippines with 21 points and seven assists. Kai Sotto logged eight markers for his first points in the tournament. Gerson Goncalves led Angola in scoring, hitting four threes en route to 17 points.
The game began with a frantic pace, as Angola utilized their quickness and length on the defensive end, making it difficult for the Philippines to score. Within the first six minutes of the first frame, the score was tied at 4-4 until Roger Pogoy scored four straight points to give Gilas Pilipinas an 8-4 advantage. Similar to their last game against the Dominican Republic, the Philippines struggled with turnovers, coupled up with Angola’s frontcourt versatility. However, Gilas took advantage of their opponent’s shooting struggles to end the first quarter with a 19-12 lead.
Angola came out swinging to begin the second quarter as Gerson Domingos scored five straight points, nailing two free throws and a triple. Gilas would respond with a resounding 9-0 scoring burst led by CJ Perez, Sotto, AJ Edu, and Pogoy. Sotto would then find himself in foul trouble three minutes into the quarter, committing three early fouls before halftime. Atlanta Hawks big man Bruno Fernando would then cause problems for Gilas, including an emphatic dunk from inside the paint to trim the deficit, 22-29. The Philippines struggled offensively, and their issues with turnovers allowed Angola to flip the script at halftime, 36-33.
After the first 20 minutes, Gilas shot 42% from the field but struggled mightily from the perimeter, hitting only three of their 10 attempts from deep. Angola also had seven steals, and the Philippines committed 10 giveaways.
Clarkson opened up the scoring for the Philippines in the third frame, finding an open lane to the basket to cut the deficit, 35-38. Playing behind, Ramos and former Blue Eagle Kiefer Ravena would go on a combined 5-0 run to knot the game up again. With five minutes left in the quarter, Gilas already found themselves in foul trouble but Clarkson made three free throws to retake the lead, 45-43. Later in the quarter, after Angola pushed their advantage to three, the Utah Jazz guard completed a three-point play with two minutes left in the third frame to cut the deficit to one, 50-51. More turnovers riddled the Philippines, and the quarter ended with Angola taking a 56-52 lead.
Struggles worsened for Gilas offensively in the final frame as Goncalves made back-to-back triples to put Angola up by double-digits, 66-55. With one more run left in them, Gilas went on an 11-0 comeback attempt after a breakaway layup from Rhenz Abando and a three-point play from AJ Edu cut Angola’s lead, 66-73. In a crucial play down by only five and needing a stop, Pogoy helped on Fernando, who found an open shooter in the corner to seal the deal for Angola, 68-76. The game concluded with the Philippines taking another heartbreaking loss, 70-80.
With this loss, Gilas drops to 0-2 and is currently in fourth place in Group A. Hoping for more, an Olympic berth would require Gilas to earn the highest finish in the World Cup. However, they lost their spot as the best Asian-ranked team in the World Cup as Japan nailed an upset victory tonight against Finland in Okinawa, Japan, 98-88.
The Philippines also have a chance to still make the second round of the World Cup with a win over Italy and an Angola loss to the Dominican Republic. However, such a scenario would entail a three-way tie which will depend on the quotient to determine who advances. They face their must-win matchup against the Azzurri on August 29 at 8 PM, still at the Araneta Coliseum.
Box scores:
Philippines (70): Clarkson – 21, Edu – 9, Pogoy – 8, Sotto – 8, Perez – 7, Fajardo – 4, Ravena – 3, Abando – 2, Malonzo – 0, Thompson – 0
Angola (80): Goncalves – 17, Domingos – 15, Fernando – 14, Bango – 10, de Sousa – 10, Dundao – 4, Kokila – 4, Francisco – 3, Paolo – 2, Monteiro – 1, Fernandes – 0, Maconda – 0
Quarter scores:
Philippines-Angola: 19-12, 33-36, 52-56, 70-80
