Despite a late-game rally, Gilas Pilipinas suffered a tough loss to Angola in their second game of the FIBA World Cup.
Gilas Pilipinas suffered their second defeat in the 2023 FIBA World Cup with a 70-80 loss to Angola. Despite leading by as much as 11 points in the second quarter, the Angolans fought back to bring the tide of the game strongly in their favor.
While Angola defended aggressively, the Philippine side struggled to convert their shots, leading the Angolans to outscore Gilas in all quarters but the first.
Although Gilas Pilipinas seemed to find more life and promise in the last few minutes of the fourth period, going on a late-game rally to shrink the Angolans’ lead, Gerson Domingos sealed a three-point shot with less than a minute to go as the final dagger in the home team’s loss.
Despite the disappointing result, Gilas Pilipinas’ hopes of advancing to the next round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup have not yet disappeared completely, but the difficult task now becomes a mountain for the Filipino men to climb, as they must win against a heavily favored Italy in their last group stage game. However, on top of this, Gilas will also need Angola to lose to the Dominican Republic as well.
Gilas’ last hope comes on Tuesday at 8:00 PM at the Aranete Coliseum.
Images from FIBA.
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