GILAS Pilipinas ended the group stage with three losses in the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup but technically, it’s still not the end of the road as the Nationals still have matches to play in the coming days.
After losses to Dominican Republic, Angola and Italy, Gilas moves to the classification phase where teams will be battling for the 17th to 32nd positions where it will continue the quest for the lone Asian spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
READ: Resurgent Italy slams World Cup door on Gilas
From Group A, Gilas will move to Group M where the hosts will go up against the two teams from Group B which didn’t made it past the second round.
Those two teams that they will play starting on Thursday will only be determined at the close of Group B action on Wednesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
As things stand, the possible opponents of Gilas are either Puerto Rico, South Sudan, or China.
Heading into the final matches of Group B, Serbia is on top of the standings with a 2-0 win-loss record followed by Puerto Rico and South Sudan at 1-1. China is at the bottom with a 0-2 slate.
Wednesday's playdate will see Serbia facing South Sudan and Puerto Rico taking on China.
South Sudan is coming off a historic first World Cup win but faces tall odds against Serbia, one of the favorites of the tournament.
China, meanwhile, has lost lopsided games heading into the match against Puerto Rico, which beat South Sudan in overtime in their first game.
However, all the Asian teams will have some catching up to do against co-host Japan, which has the headstart in the classification phase thanks to its upset win over Finland in the Okinawa phase of the group matches.
All records are carried over into the classification phase.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
