GILAS Pilipinas will have to take the longer route to the quarterfinals of the 19th Asian Games men’s basketball tournament.
The Philippines lost to Jordan, 87-62, on Saturday no thanks to the exploits of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who ironically will return to the country when the PBA wars resume as the comebacking import of TNT.
READ: Gilas faces tough road to Asiad medal after 25-point loss to Jordan
The loss leaves Gilas Pilipinas playing an extra game just so to clinch a quarterfinal berth, instead of a direct ticket to the Final 8 had it won against Jordan on Saturday.
A win would have given the Philippines an outright place in the quarterfinals where a possible opponent in the semifinals is host China, the top seed in Group C.
Instead, the Philippines, after becoming the second seed in Group C, will face the third-ranked team in Group C in Qatar, which finished the preliminaries with a 1-2 win-loss record. The knockout game is set on Monday.
The winner of the Philippines-Qatar qualifying match will go up against the Group A top team in Iran, which breezed through the preliminaries with a 3-0 record and won by a total margin of 65 points.
If Philippines finds a way to defeat Iran in the quarterfinals, Gilas could be in line for a possible clash with China, which also topped Group B via three-game sweep of the preliminaries.
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The Philippines, of course, won over China in the Fiba Basketball World Cup during their final game of the tournament at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
But it will be a role reversal this time if China finds itself in the semifinals as it will now be playing at home against the Philippines.
But first things first, Gilas will have to hurdle Qatar on October 2
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