THERE appears to be no end to the nightmare that has been the campaign of the Gilas Pilipinas in the 2019 FIBA World Cup as they bowed to Tunisia, 67-86, and kissed their chances of gaining an outright slot to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics goodbye on Friday night, September 6, in the classification phase at the Wokesung Sport Arena in Beijing, China.
The loss was the Philippine side’s fourth in a row dating back to the group stage. And the road to get their first win in this tournament does not get any easier as they take on Asian powerhouse and longtime rival, Iran, on Sunday, September 8, at 8 p.m.
Naturalized player Andray Blatche was the lone bright spot for the Gilas as he produced 24 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Nobody else managed to reach double-figures for the Gilas with the next highest scorer being Troy Rosario with eight.
In stark contrast, Tunisia had five different players score in twin digits led by Omar Abada’s 16 points. Michael Roll added 13 while Dallas Mavericks big man Salah Mejri put up a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Aside from needing to defeat Iran, Gilas will also need the Iranians to vanquish Tunisia in order to get one of the top two spots in Group N, providing Gilas a chance of making it into the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
The best Asian team in the World Cup will gain an outright berth to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics along with six other teams from the other continents.