World Cup: Gilas Pilipinas not taking lower-ranked Angola for granted

Gilas Pilipinas concludes Thursday practice session. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine team head coach Yeng Guiao has declared the game against Italy as a make or break for Gilas Pilipinas in the 2019 Fiba World Cup.

But that’s not the only game Gilas Pilipinas would find itself in a must-win situation especially if they managed to pull off a mighty upset over the Azzurri on Sunday.

The duel with Angola too is of utmost importance as far as the Philippines’ chances of making it past the first round of the tournament are concerned.

“We cannot take Angola for granted. Even if you win Italy then, we lose to Angola, everything would be useless,” said Guiao Wednesday shortly after the team’s last practice before leaving for China.

“Let’s assume we lose to Serbia, so if we’re successful against Italy, you have to win Angola to make the next round. If you don’t, it’s useless.”

Angola is currently ranked eight spots lower than the Philippines at 39th in the world but Guiao knows the Angolans cannot be taken lightly.

“We’re not taking it for granted. We already have scouting materials against Angola. So as soon as we’re done with Italy, that’s when we’re going to study and focus on them,” Guiao said. “The schemes that we designed are applicable to most situations.”

Gilas, which takes on Italy and Serbia in its first two games, plays Angola on September 4.