GILAS Pilipinas suffered a disappointing 80-70 loss to Angola in a game that saw the host team leading by as many as 11 points before dropping its second match of the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup.
Bleak as the situation may be, there is still a glimmer of hope for Gilas Pilipinas.
READ: Angola sends Gilas crashing to second loss
The good news is that Gilas Pilipinas is still in contention for a place in the second round despite dropping to 0-2 in Group A, with a glimmer of a hope that it can end up in a tie for second place with Italy and Angola at 1-2.
For the uninitiated, here is a part of the pertinent Fiba rule with regards to classification in case of ties, contained in Appendix D.1.3 which says:
If 2 or more teams have the same win-loss record of all the games in the group, the game(s) between these 2 or more teams shall decide on the classification. If these 2 or more teams have the same win-loss record of the games between them, further criteria shall be used in the following order:
- Higher game points difference of the games between them.
- Higher number of game points scored in the games between them.
- Higher game points difference of all the games in the group.
- Higher number of game points scored in all games in the group.
It won't be easy for Gilas, however, since it will face world No. 10 Italy next. And winning the game might still not be enough for Gilas Pilipinas to progress.
SCENARIOS
A lot of things must happen in order for Gilas to clinch a spot in the next round. It starts in the first game of that Tuesday doubleheader where Dominican Republic faces Angola at 4 p.m.
For Gilas to still have a chance, Angola must first lose to Dominican Republic, which is still playing for something since the win-loss records in the first round will be carried over into the next round.

In the event that Angola loses, Gilas would need not just a win against Italy but to win by a certain number of points in order to advance.
That game is expected to be a difficult one since Italy will be out to bounce back from that stinging 87-82 loss to Dominican Republic on Sunday.
Since a Gilas win over Italy will mean all teams involved in the tie will have 1-1 win-loss records against each other, the next tiebreaker will be used, and in this case, it's the point difference in their matches versus each other.
As things stand, Italy has a +14 point difference with the Philippines still on its schedule. Angola is next with -4 while Gilas has a -10 heading into the Italy game.
In order to advance, Gilas must beat Italy – a team that went 7-0 in their Fiba tune-ups, a team determined to regain its pride after the loss to Dominican Republic, and a team only needing another win to advance – by 13 points or more in order to overhaul Italy’s point differential advantage and move on to the next round.
Meanwhile, other tiebreakers will apply if Gilas wins by 12 points.
In short, Gilas Pilipinas might need a miracle to pull this one off.
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