By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes is not losing hope on the country’s 2024 Paris Olympic bid even after the Nationals suffered another heartbreaking defeat in the FIBA World Cup on Sunday, Aug. 27 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Gilas’ bid to become the best placed Asian team in the tournament hit a snag with the Filipinos’ chance of advancing to the second round of the tournament already looking bleak after a disheartening 80-70 loss to Angola.
Making matters worse for Gilas, Japan has already gained a head start in the race for the No. 1 Asian team after pulling off a massive 98-88 upset of Finland to become the only Asian team so far with a victory on its name.
Reyes, however, refused to raise the white flag, saying there is still a glimmer of hope for Gilas.
But that will heavily depend on the remaining two games in Group A.
“We just need to focus on the next game. The objective is to get to the Olympics, so no matter how flickering that hope is, that hope is still alive. So we still have to keep our heads up and find a way to play our best in the next game,” said Reyes after the game that also pushed Gilas at the end of Group A standings with a 0-2 record.
All is not lost however for Gilas even after the tough loss to Angola although the climb would be much steeper now for the Filipinos. For one, it must pray first for a Dominican Republic against Angola to stay in contention.
And even if the Filipinos got it, a victory over world No. 10 Italy might not be even enough for Gilas to get through the second round.
In case of triple tie for the second spot with Gilas, Italy and Angola, the point differential will determine the better team, putting much of the pressure on the Filipinos who would need to win by 13 points or more against the Azzurri.
A win, however, might be enough to get Gilas’ Olympic bid back on track but the Nationals must still hope that Japan drops its remaining games and no other Asian teams pick up victories in their remaining matches.
“It is [still alive]. We hope Japan loses its last game and we win our last game then it’s all tied. I don’t know how they are going to break that tie, but in the end, it’s going to be dependent, I think, on the other games,” said Reyes.
“It’s not going to be in our hands. The only thing that’s within our control right now is the next game. We can’t worry about the other things going on,” he added.
