Korea or Japan to face Gilas in FIBA Asia qtrs
n MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas’ quest for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup crown gets harder. It will face either South Korea or Japan in the knockout quarterfinals on Wednesday at the Nouhad Nawfal Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon.
The Philippine men’s basketball team bagged a quarterfinals seat after sweeping its Group B assignments China ( 96- 87), Iraq (84-68) and Qatar (80-74).
But t he undermanned Gilas is expected to encounter hurdles against South Korea or Japan, which were still vying for the remaining quarterfinals slot.
South Korea is led by Sekeun Oh (averaging 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists), Sunhyung Kim ( 11.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists) and Jongkyu Kim ( 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists).
Meanwhile, Japan is bannered by Makoto Hiejima ( 10.7 points, naturalized player Ira Brown (11.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists) and
rt naturalized player Ira Brown (8.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists).
And if Gilas advances to the semifinals, it will face either Lebanon or Chinese-Taipei, which were also in a knockout game last night, and Iran.
“We have to keep the low- key attitude and the hunger in us,” said Gilas coach Chot Reyes. “We cannot afford to be l ulled i n a state of complacency.”
Gilas cannot play like it did against Qatar where it committed 17 t urnovers, mostly in the fourth quarter, Reyes noted.
“[There is] no way we will win against either Korea or Japan if we play like that,” he said. “We will surely be heading home.”
The other half of t he bracket features New Zealand, Australia, China, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria. One of t hese powerhouse teams will face Gilas if the Philippines reaches the finals./