Gilas places 24th in World Cup, earns ticket to OQT
At A Glance
- Gilas, at last, after a series of heartbreaks, finally won its first game, a convincing 96-75 decision against Asian rival China to end the campaign on a high note and avoid another winless run in the World Cup.
“No greater feeling.”
That was what coach Chot Reyes uttered after Gilas Pilipinas finally found the light at the end of the long, winding tunnel in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Gilas, at last, after a series of heartbreaks, finally won its first game, a convincing 96-75 decision against Asian rival China to end the campaign on a high note and avoid another winless run in the World Cup.
The Nationals may have fell short of their bid for an outright spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics but the win didn’t only assured the hosts of avoiding finishing dead last just like in the 2019 edition but also breathed new life to their hopes of returning to the Olympiad.
The brave stand against the Dominican Republic, Angola and Italy was not put to waste as it enabled Gilas, along with its lone victory against China, to finish at the 24th spot in the 32-field global showpiece.
Gilas landed in the "next 16 best-placed teams in the World Cup which didn’t qualify to the Olympics" to get an invite to the Olympic qualifying tournament.
The Filipinos finished with a 1-4 record in tie with China and Angola in the Group M standings in the classification round but went on to claim the second spot due to a favorable point differential to secure their place from 21st to 24th spots.
Gilas finished as the third-best team in Asia behind the Paris-bound Japan which finished with a 3-2 record and the late blooming Lebanon which swept its classification matches to finish with a 2-3 slate.
Reyes was glad to finally give back the unwavering support of the Filipino crowd, who braved through the heavy rains to cheer their hearts out for Gilas, by picking up the Nationals’ first win.
“We reminded the players that no matter the typhoon, the weather, being essentially a no bearing game, the crowd still came Filipinos still came to watch, I said let's give them a present,” said Reyes.
“Make sure we end this with a gift to the Filipino people for their continued belief and support for the team,” he added.
A catalyst to that cause was Jordan Clarkson who etched his name to annals of Philippine basketball after a historic scoring that saw him explode for 34 points – the most by any Filipino in the World Cup, surpassing the 33 and 31 points of Mon Cruz in the 1978 edition and the 31 points of the Filipino legend Caloy Loyzaga in 1951.
“We have to dig deep and that's what the players did. Every single one of them, (I’m) so proud, unfortunately the result didn't come out as we expected but to end with the win, no greater feeling,” said Reyes.