GILAS Pilipinas is strategizing intensely to neutralize Angola's key players, Bruno Fernando and Childe Dundao, in a Fiba World Cup 2023 Group A Sunday night (August 27) showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum..
Despite the Philippines being ranked 40th and Angola at 41st by Fiba, these rankings offer little insight into the potential outcome of their impending clash.
The Filipinos, who resumed practice Saturday evening at the Philsports Arena after Friday night's heart-wrenching 81-87 loss against the Dominican Republic at the Philippine Arena, are leaving no stone unturned to overcome the African team and pursue their Olympic dream.
Addressing the challenge ahead, Gilas head coach Chot Reyes underscored Angola's formidable athleticism and imposing stature.
While acknowledging that Atlanta Hawks big man Bruno Fernando possesses a prowess akin to that of Dominican Republic's Karl-Anthony Towns, the team remains undeterred by the prospect, diligently centering their strategy around containing Fernando's impact.
Reyes also said that point guard Dundao also poses a threat. "We also have to be ready for him," he said.
Fernando canned 13 points on top of five boards and four steals, while Dundao made 19 markers, three assists, and two steals in their 67-81 defeat to Italy in the Fiba World Cup 2023 curtain raiser at the Philippine Arena.
Gilas' frontcourt, comprising AJ Edu, June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, and Kai Sotto, faces the challenge of battling a robust Angola squad head-on.
Face the facts
According to the Opta Facts released by Fiba, in their debut meeting at the 2019 World Cup preliminaries, Angola edged out the Philippines 84-81, marking Angola's sole victory in that tournament. The Philippines' recent record in Fiba World Cup preliminaries shows just one win in 14 matches, notably against an African opponent in 2014 (81-79 vs. Senegal).
Angola boasts an impressive record of winning seven out of eight preliminary matches against Asian teams in the FIBA World Cup. Their victory over Japan in 2006 (87-62) remains their most recent against a host nation.
Utah Jazz star Jordan Clarkson of the Philippines stands among a select few, having scored 28 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists against the Dominican Republic, making him one of six players in the last 30 years to achieve this in a Fiba World Cup game and one of three to do it in his debut match.
In his Fiba World Cup debut, Childe Dundao set a record for Angolan players with 19 points against Italy. Only Necas in 1986 managed 15+ points in his first two games (17 vs. Soviet Union, 15 vs. Israel) for Angola.
About Friday night
Clarkson could only watch with a mix of anxiety and frustration as his team, Gilas Pilipinas, succumbed to a determined Dominican Republic in front of a record-breaking crowd of 38,115 at the Philippine Arena.
The Karl-Anthony Towns (KAT)-powered Dominican Republic capitalized on a pivotal 13-5 run to secure the 87-81 win.
Clarkson, who had to sit out during the final minutes due to five personal fouls, led the scoring for Gilas Pilipinas with an impressive 28 points. However, his crucial absence was triggered by an offensive foul called against him as he drove toward the basket against the Dominican Republic's Victor Liz with 3:32 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The incident catalyzed the Dominican Republic's offense. Leveraging the prowess of their NBA stars Towns and Lester Quinones, they aggressively attacked the basket to draw fouls and capitalized on free throw opportunities to secure their victory.
Towns, a standout with 26 points, hit 15 points from the free throw line for the Dominican Republic. Liz added 18 while Andres Feiz had 12, though he struggled with a 2-for-6 performance from beyond the arc. Quinones made a crucial contribution, scoring two points in the final minute to solidify their victory.
In a post-game press conference, Reyes said: "I really love the fight of our players; they competed with the heart. The disqualification of Jordan was a big blow for us. Such a letdown we could have pulled out a great gift for a record number of people."
He also praised Fajardo, saying, "Again, like I said, June Mar is a very efficient player, didn't miss a shot. Towards the end, we wanted to go to him a lot more, but he was guarded by a seven-footer, KAT, who did a good job denying him. That's an All-Star. I can't complain about the effort of AJ and June Mar in defending KAT. Very unfortunate we just came out short."
Fajardo scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds on opening night.