In Fiba World Cup and race to Olympics, Chot Reyes prefers to focus on things he can control

Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — With Japan stunning Finland in Okinawa, Gilas Pilipinas is no longer holding its fate for the best Asian team after falling to Angola, 80-70, late Sunday night.

But coach Chot Reyes won’t look too far ahead, focusing on their final game in Group A against Italy in the Fiba World Cup on Tuesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Philippines fell to a 0-2 record in Group A after an 80-70 loss to Angola in front of a 12,000-strong crowd at the Big Dome, falling to the brink of being relegated to the classification round.

Japan leaned on Joshua Hawkinson’s 28-point and 19-rebound outing to outlast the Lauri Markkanen-led Finland, 98-88, to become the first Asian team to bag a win this year.

Reyes is not thinking of things beyond their control as he keeps his focus on Italy.

“We hope Japan loses its last game and we win our last game then it’s all tied. I don’t know how they’re going to break that tie. But in the end, it’s going to be dependent on other games, it’s not going to be in our hands,” the Gilas coach said in the postgame press conference.

“The only thing that’s within our control right now is the next game, we can’t worry about the other things that are going on.”

The Akatsuki Five improved to 1-1 in Group E before facing Australia on Tuesday.

Like the Philippines, Lebanon fell to 0-2 in Group H after absorbing a  128-73 loss to Canada in Jakarta, Indonesia.

China, an Asian team that Gilas could face in the classification round, holds a 0-1 record after a 42-point loss to Serbia in Group B, seeking to bounce back against South Sudan on Monday at the Big Dome.

Jordan of Group C at Mall of Asia Arena and Iran of Group G in Jakarta are tied at 0-1.

SLIM CHANCE

Reyes stressed that they have to find a way to win against Italy, which holds a 1-1 record tied with Angola, as they still have a slim chance of qualifying for the next round by forcing a triple tie at 1-2 that will be broken by quotient.

“We focus on what’s within our hands so there’s a game to be played on Tuesday. We’re going to come out and prepare as best we can to play a top-10 team Italy. That’s all we gonna do right now,” he said. “Whatever is happening to the other teams is not within our control. We can only focus on what’s within our control right now.”

Reyes wants his wards to think of the game first before the scenarios when they battle the bounce-back-seeking Azzurri, who lost to the Dominican Republic earlier.

“We all know the mathematics of the situation. The first thing for us is to make sure to come out and prepare and find a way to win that game and then the quotient will take care of itself,” the Gilas coach said. “But for us, we focus on what we need to do to be able to compete against the top 10 team in the world.”