Gilas Pilipinas are in the same bracket as Italy, Serbia, and Angola at the 2019 FIBA World Cup
Photo from FIBA.Basketball
When NBA legend Kobe Bryant announced the Philippines’ category in last Saturday’s televised FIBA World Cup draw, hundreds of Filipinos cringed after finding out who Gilas Pilipinas needs to face.
Before the Philippines was drawn as part of Group D, two European powerhouse teams, Serbia and Italy, were already part of the category. Minutes after Bryant drew the Philippines, Angola—Africa’s best basketball team—took the last spot.
All teams will go up against each other in Foshan, China on Aug. 31.
The Philippines is once again this year’s ultimate underdogs but this is something Gilas Pilipinas has been used to over the years. Gilas will be going up against a lot of height, relentless skill, and veteran NBA players like Nikola Jokic (Serbia) and Danilo Gallinari (Italy).
With a tough road ahead in the world’s biggest basketball stage, here’s a breakdown of each game the Philippine team is set to play:
Game one: Gilas versus Italy
The last time the Philippines faced off with Italy, they lost by 36 points (106-70). It’s clear that coach Yeng Guiao and his squad will have to bring out more than just their A-game when they take on Italy on the first day of the tournament. Besides having a whole lot of height, Italy boasts a powerhouse roster that includes Gallinari, Marco Belinelli, and Luigi Datome—players who can dominate the post, find ways to score, and challenge Andray Blatche. Gilas will have to depend on their shooters and tighten their defense on the post to at least have a good chance to challenge Italy.
Game two: Gilas versus Serbia
After Italy, Gilas will square off against Serbia—a team that, according to the FIBA World ranking, is the fourth best in the world. The Eastern European team is a basketball superpower, especially with players like 7’0 star Jokic, 7’3 Boban Marjanovic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Nemanja Bjelica. The team also has an excellent track record: They placed second in the World Cup in 2014 and fourth in 2010. Gilas will have to play the game of their lives in order to have a chance versus Serbia.
Game three: Gilas versus Angola
Unlike Serbia and Italy, Gilas leads the 38th seed Angola in the FIBA World rankings. However, Angola has won the FIBA Africa Championships over 11 times and has been on the world stage before. Gilas will have their hands full with Jean Jacques Conceicao, Jose Guimaraes, Carlos Almeida, and Miguel Lutonda.
It won’t be an easy start for the Philippine national basketball team but they have been in this situation for some time now. The battles awaiting Gilas are something they’re going to have to conquer in order to prove that they have what it takes to be strong competitors in the world games.