GILAS Pilipinas will face South Sudan to start the classification phase before taking on China in the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup at the conclusion of Group B play on Wednesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
South Sudan was drubbed by powerhouse Serbia, 115-83, in the first game of the day, before being formally eliminated from contention in the second round after China lost to Puerto Rico, 107-89.
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With the result, the Philippines will face South Sudan on Thursday, 8 p.m. at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, before ending the World Cup campaign on Saturday against China on Saturday at the same time.
South Sudan and China fell to the classification round after ending the group stage with 1-2 and 0-3 win-loss slates, respectively.
The games will still be crucial for the Philippines, South Sudan, and China, which are still chasing Olympic berths in their respective continental qualifiers. Asia and Africa have been reserved one slot in 2024 in Paris.
After its loss, South Sudan would have advanced to the second round with a China win over Puerto Rico but the Asian team wasn’t able to get the job done.
China will open the day against Angola at 4 p.m. in a match that also has implications on the Philippines’ bid for a ticket to Paris.
Dut Jok Kacuol had 21 points for South Sudan, but top scorer Carlik Jones was limited to only three points.
Zhao Rui added 16 points for China while Minnesota Timberwolves cager Kyle Anderson had nine points.
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