By REYNALD MAGALLON
It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.
Gilas Pilipinas may now have their backs against the wall but there’s no way the team is going down without a fight when it battles for survival against Iraq in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, Aug. 9.
Tip-off of the clash is at 4 p.m. with the Nationals hoping to showcase one more fight in them to try and qualify to the next round of the continental tiff.
Though disappointed by Gilas’ current 0-2 standings – a position that the team admittedly did not see happening prior to the tournament – national team head coach Tim Cone said the team isn’t waving the white flag just yet.
“We’re disappointed but the tournament’s not over for us. We have a big game against Iraq coming up and see if we can get into the next round,” said Cone following Gilas’ 94-86 loss to the Tall Blacks.
A win for Gilas would allow it to advance to the qualification for the quarterfinals against the second seed team from Group C. A loss however would put the Filipinos out of title contention.
“We just need to keep battling, keep our heads going forward and don’t sink because of these last two losses. We can’t afford that, there’s still more to do and we’re going to be ready for our next game,” he added.
There were some positives to take from the loss to New Zealand, particularly in the last two quarters where Gilas finally bared its defensive fangs and limited the Tall Blacks to just 39 second half points after 55-point in the first two frames.
“In the second half, we’re playing the way we’re supposed to and I’m just hoping that we carry this momentum to the next game,” said Dwight Ramos who, like the rest of the team, is also eager to repay the enthusiastic Filipino crowd in Jeddah with a win.
Standing in its way, however, are the Iraqis, who are equally eager to barge into the win column and advance to the next round.
Iraq was at the receiving end of two blowout losses in their first two assignments – first a 100-78 drubbing at the hands of the Tall Blacks and then an 87-60 beating against Chinese Taipei.
In contrast, Gilas lost to those two teams with an average margin of 8.0 points.
But Gilas cannot be complacent with Iraq proving to have a scorer in Abdullah Hayder
Alibraheemi who fired 20 points against the Taiwanese.
Justin Brownlee, meanwhile, is expected to lead the offensive thrust for the Filipinos, especially after exploding for 28 against New Zealand. He, however, needs more help from guys like Calvin Oftana, Scottie Thompson and June Mar Fajardo
