MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas’ bid for the second round in the 2023 FIBA World Cup experienced a setback on Sunday, after a tough 80-70 loss to Angola in their Group A clash at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
But Gilas big man Kai Sotto remains optimistic heading into their final match against Italy — a do-or-die contest.
This, because the Philippines were able to come out with some good moments late in the game.
After trailing by as much as 16 points in the fourth period, Gilas scored 11 straight to get within five, 68-73, with 1:12 left in the ball game. Sotto was the one to convert on freebies to cap off the run.
“I think maganda yung fight back naming,” he said after the match.
“I think nung first half, dikit lang yung laban tapos yung third quarter, may mga lapses kami, mga turnovers, naka-run sila. So medyo nahirapan kami bumalik… We can’t afford yung mga runs na ganon [but] I think, proud padin ako sa team namin,” he added.
Gerson Domingos hit a dagger 3-pointer with 47 ticks remaining to deny Gilas the comeback.
Still, Sotto believes their efforts aren’t for naught as they look to take the positives from their late game run to get things going against Italy on Tuesday.
But first, they’ll look to re-energize well.
“Unang una, yung recovery namin, especially every other day yung game. Hindi ganun kadali yun para sa mga players pero ayun, we’ll recover from tonight and then tomorrow we focus on Italy,” said Sotto of their mindset.
“Yung mga matututunan namin this game, we’ll just add that to our next game,” he continued.
Gilas will need to win against the World No. 10 Italians for a chance to qualify for the next round and avoid another winless campaign in the World Cup.