Nationals finish 24th, secure OQT berth

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas couldn’t have picked a better parting shot in the FIBA World Cup played on Philippine soil:

A morale-boosting victory in the WC after nine years of futility, at home in front of a loud and proud “Sixth Man” and at the expense of a bitter rival in Asian hoops and, taking it deeper, territorial dispute.

And the breath of fresh air that was the 96-75 rout of China Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum actually did more than provide a feel-good vibe after a string of letdowns since posting an 81-79 win over Senegal back in 2014 edition.

The ego-boosting 21-point triumph, in the end, proved enough to give Gilas a second crack at the Paris Olympics via the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs).

When the smoke of battle in the Classification Phase cleared, the Philippines wound up second in Group M with a 1-4 slate behind South Sudan’s 3-2 and 24th overall in the 32-team field. This was enough to earn them an invite to the OQT early next year as the “13th best team not qualified yet.”

Co-host Japan (3-2) clinched a direct entry to Paris as the best Asian team of the WC, joining top African side South Sudan, No. 1 Oceania team Australia (2-2 at press time) and host France.

In danger of repeating the infamy of the 0-5 outing in the 2019 WC, Jordan Clarkson and Co. stepped up to the plate and made it an explosive last hurrah.

“For sure, we didn’t want our hosting to end without gifting the Filipino people with a victory,” said coach Chot Reyes, referring to the 11,080-strong crowd who braved the heavy rains and strong winds to support the team despite previous heartbreakers in the first round against the Dominican Republic, Angola and Italy and the classification opening game versus South Sudan.

“Look at them, it’s stormy outside. We’re just basically playing for nothing, but they all came out. So, we just owe this to the Filipino people,” added Reyes, who later announced his intention to vacate the post in the wake of severe bashing on his person and family on social media.

Reyes said he wrote only two words on the board before the emotional battle with Team Dragon: “Dig Deep.”

“We just told the players to come out and play, do what they do best, and that is to hoop and play ball. In fact, we had no X’s and O’s on our board; we just had the words ‘Dig Deep’ on our board today. That’s what they did,” he said.