GILAS Pilipinas’ loss to Bahrain on Friday in the 20th Asian Games men’s basketball has raised the grim possibility, after just Day One the tournament, that the reigning champion may miss the quarterfinals.
The Philippines absorbed an 85-89 loss to Bahrain on Friday - a disappointing result considering that Gilas Pilipinas looked to have turned the corner in that game after giving up the first eight points of the match.
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Instead of being among the leaders in Group C, Gilas now stands at 0-1 alongside Kazakhstan, which lost to China, 99-61, earlier in the day. China and Bahrain share first place in the standings.
Group C standings (win-loss)
China 1-0
Bahrain 1-0
Philippines 0-1
Kazakhstan 0-1
The tournament format calls for the top two teams in each of the three groups and the two best third placers advancing to the quarterfinals.
With the loss, Gilas’ game against Kazakhstan, with China in the horizon, has become an important one, essentially a must-win, as the result could very well determine its fate in the title defense of its Asian Games gold.
If Gilas Pilipinas beats Kazakhstan on Saturday, the team ends up in a tie for second place with an even 1-1 win-loss record with whichever becomes the loser of the game between China and Bahrain happening on the same day.
A win by Gilas against Kazakhstan will still not assure it of a place in the quarterfinals, but will at least put the Philippines in a position to advance, either by being in the top two or being one of the two best third placer.
A loss to Kazakhstan, however, could be fatal for Gilas as it would go 0-2 in the group ahead of the game against China, one of the powerhouses of the continent. A second defeat would leave the all-PBA team in a must-win scenario against China for a chance to be the third placer in the group.
Being a third placer in the group is already a tough spot to be in as the win-loss records, and point differential among others, of the other two other No. 3 teams in the tournament will be factored in to determine which among them will get the last two quarterfinal spots.
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