Gilas Pilipinas Basketball

An Angola side that played with more purpose narrowed Gilas Pilipinas’ already slim Olympic basketball hopes as it scored an 80-70 upset on Sunday in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Gerson Goncalves had 17 points and six rebounds, figuring in a crucial run that allowed the 11-time AfroBasket champions to pull away midway in the fourth quarter.

Goncalves made back-to-back triples and sank two free throws as part of a 10-0 stretch for Angola that pushed the lead up to 68-55.

Angola led by as much as 16, 73-57, before the Philippines tried to go on a late surge as they cut the deficit down to five, 73-68 on an and-one by AJ Edu and free throws by Kai Sotto with 1:08 left.

However, Gerson Domingos responded with a corner triple before Jilson Bango punctuated the win with a dunk inside of the last minute.

Domingos added 15 points and dished out seven assists, while Bruno Fernando chipped in 14 points.

The Philippines established its biggest advantage of the first half early in the second quarter, pulling away after a sluggish start which saw both teams engage in a slow pace.

A basket by RR Pogoy gave the home side a 28-17 lead momentarily, but Angola fought back right away and went on a 19-5 run to wrest back the lead as its three-point shooting clicked.

From there, Gilas had a disastrous offensive showing, struggling from the three-point line as Angola was able to pad its lead to double-digits.

Jordan Clarkson once again top-scored with 21 points, but shot only 7-of-22 from the field. Edu added nine points while Pogoy, Kai Sotto, and Dwight Ramos all tallied eight points each.

Earlier, the Dominican Republic stunned Italy, 87-82 to punch its own ticket to the Round of 16 and leave the door open for any of the three Group A teams to join them in the second round.

Gilas will wrap up its group phase campaign against the Azzurri on Tuesday, August 29, needing to win to put itself in a good position entering the consolation round.

Written by Levi Joshua Verora Jr.
Photos from fiba.basketball

Boxscores:

Angola (80) – Goncalves 17, Domingos 15, Fernando 14, Bango 10, De Sousa 10, Dundao 4, Kokila 4, Francisco 3, Paulo 2, Monteiro 0, Fernandes 0, Maconda 0.

Gilas Pilipinas (70) – Clarkson 21, Edu 9, Ramos 8, Sotto 8, Perez 7, Fajardo 4, Ravena 3, Abando 2, Aguilar 0, Malonzo 0, Thompson 0. 

Quarter scores: 12-19, 36-33, 56-52, 80-70.