Gilas Pilipinas will look to recuperate from their opening day loss to the Dominican Republic because it plunges again into motion within the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in opposition to equally hungry Angola right here on the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.
The Filipinos and the Angolans will meet in a Group A conflict at 8 p.m. whereas powerhouses Italy and Dominican Republic will look to get their profitable momentum going after they tackle one another at 4 p.m.
Read extra | FIBA World Cup Preview: A Serbian correspondent breaks down Gilas Pilipinas vs Angola
Both the Philippines and Angola dropped their opening day matches.
Angola, which ranks No. 41 on this planet, absorbed an 81-67 loss to the Italians final Friday as Utah Jazz participant Simone Fontecchio led the way in which for the world No. 10 Azzurri with 19 factors, 5 rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block.
Unlike Angola, Gilas stored their sport in opposition to the Dominicans shut, dropping by simply six factors, 87-81, with Jordan Clarkson scoring 28 factors earlier than fouling out of the competition with over three minutes left.
(Angola’s Bruno Fernando on the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Photo: fiba.basketball)
Fernando, who performs for the Atlanta Hawks within the NBA, churned out 13 factors, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals within the loss whereas the 25-year-old Dundao put collectively 19 markers, three boards, and two steals.
This implies that Gilas frontcourt led by June Mar Fajardo and AJ Edu could have one other busy day whereas Clarkson is tipped to go all out as soon as extra, particularly coming off a loss.
“I really love the fight of our players. They competed hard. But you know, we can’t worry about that now. We have to focus on our next game. Quick turnaround for us and we gotta get ready for Angola,” Gilas head coach Chot Reyes mentioned.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
