Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Fluid offensively and gang-defending like crazy, Kazakhstan came to Gilas Pilipinas’ house on Friday night and scored a mammoth 92-88 upset, which hit the Filipinos hard in the standings of the Fiba 2019 World Cup Qualifier.
The Kazakhs whooped it up at Mall of Asia Arena—in front of a huge crowd that seemed to be attending a funeral—as they dealt the Filipinos their fourth loss in nine games in Group F that put a dent on the country’s World Cup bid.
“Of course, we’re disappointed [with the result], but we still have [a] game on Monday and we can’t feel too negative about ourselves,” said coach Yeng Guiao, whose defense allowed a 12-for-23 clip by the enemy from beyond the arc. “We can still salvage the situation if we play a good game against Iran.”
And while the Kazakhs were on target from afar, the Filipinos made just 8-for-23 while giving up 34 free throws.
“It was the aggressiveness of the Kazakh team in attacking the basket and drawing those fouls,” Guiao said.
Alexandr Zhigulin, who came into the game averaging less than seven points, drilled the Filipinos from inside out for 30 built around six triples as Kazakhstan rose to 4-5.
Tournament format calls for the top three teams from Groups E and F to advance to the World Cup proper together with the best fourth-placed team overall.
As things stand, the Philippines is tied with Japan at 5-4—third in Group F—and is faced with a must-win against Iran on Monday also at Mall of Asia Arena.
Stanley Pringle led the Filipinos with 29 points, but was a little too individualistic in the stretch.
June Mar Fajardo scored 14 and Marcio Lassiter was the last player in twin digits for the Philippines with 13.