HANGZHOU - A battle for a quarterfinals berth and a Justin Brownlee-Rondae Hollis-Jefferson grudge match on the side.
That's basically what's in store Saturday as Gilas Pilipinas battles Jordan in the 19th Asian Games.
The 5:30 p.m. match at the Zijingang gymnasium pits the top two unbeaten teams in Pool C, with the winner gaining outright access to the quarterfinals round.
READ: Tim Cone admits Justin Brownlee playing hurt at Asiad
Coming off a hard-earned 89-72 win against hot-shooting Thailand the other day, coach Tim Cone is aware the national team needs to shoot and play better if it has to get past a Jordan side bannered by the 28-year-old Hollis-Jefferson, who led TNT to the PBA Governors Cup championship past Brownlee and the Barangay Ginebra Kings.
"They gonna be tough. What can you say," said Cone of Jordan, which beat Thailand, 97-63.
"They blew this team (Thailand) out by 37 points, and we only beat them by what, 15 or whatever? So if you look it that way, we don't have much of a chance."
Of prime concern for Gilas of course, is Hollis-Jefferson, the former NBA player who's been balling for the team in the recent FIBA World Cup and now in the Asiad where he's been averaging 18.5 points in blowout wins against Bahrain and Thailand.
He's expected to renew his rivalry with the 35-year-old Brownlee, who's been carrying the load for Gilas by averaging 21.0 points per game.
But despite Gilas' struggle opposite Thailand and Hollis-Jefferson's shadow looming big on the team, Cone likes the national team's chances against the Thais.
"I think when you walk into our locker room and talk to every one of those guys, I think we can beat Jordan," said Cone. "We'll try to put a big performance together and go out and play Jordan."
While the winner advances, the loser will be relegated in the quarterfinals classification where they will be pitted against the Nos. 2 and 3 teams of the other groups to determine the last four quarterfinalists.
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