Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes refused to dwell on the present 0-2 win-loss slate of the staff in Group A of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, placing premium on the truth that their hopes for a slot on the 2024 Paris Olympics continues to be alive.
Seven tickets to the Summer Games are at stake within the ongoing international cagefest, one is allotted every to Asia, Africa, and Oceania whereas the Americas and Europe get two slots every.
The Philippines can guide a ticket to the Paris Games in the event that they end as the very best Asian staff within the World Cup.
But after Gilas Pilipinas’ loss to Angola on Sunday and a shock win by Japan over Finland in Okinawa, the race to be the highest Asian staff simply favored the Akatsuki Five.
Still, Reyes stated the hope continues to be alive for the Philippines.
“We just need to focus on the next game,” Reyes stated within the post-game press convention.
“The objective is to get to the Olympics, so no matter how flickering that hope is, that hope is still alive. So we still have to keep our heads up and find a way to play our best in the next game.”
Read extra | FIBA World Cup Preview: A Serbian correspondent breaks down Gilas Pilipinas vs Italy
Japan is the one Asian staff that has gained a sport up to now within the World Cup as China, Jordan, Iran, are all 0-1 of their respective teams whereas Lebanon, like Gilas, is 0-2.
Gilas might want to win in opposition to Italy on Tuesday and hope the Japanese staff loses to Australia to attract even in wins. They’ll additionally must hope not one of the different Asian groups attain two wins.
“It is [still alive]. We hope Japan loses its last game and we win our last game then it’s all tied. I don’t know how they are going to break that tie, but in the end, it’s going to be dependent, I think, on the other games,” Reyes added.
“It’s not going to be in our hands. The only thing that’s within our control right now is the next game. We can’t worry about the other things going on.”
Gilas can also be mathematically nonetheless within the race to advance from Group A to the second spherical, relying on the outcomes of the group’s subsequent sport day on Tuesday.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
