Nationals eager to prove selves vs Italy
Game tonight (Foshan International Sports & Cutural Arena) 7:30 p.m. – Philippines vs Italy
FOSHAN – Hello again, world. Five years after unraveling Filipino puso basketball in the FIBA World Cup, Gilas Pilipinas once more ventures into the stomping ground of the titans, determined more than ever to make its mark.
Wiser and bolder now after driving the likes of powerhouse Argentina crazy in 2014, the Nationals plot another ambush against their more established opponents as basketball’s showpiece ignites today in this prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province.
“Same motivation as last time: We want to go out here and prove to the world that we belong,” Gilas skipper Gabe Norwood said.
Spoken by Norwood, the words carry so much weight. After all, this is the man who posterized Argentine star Luis Scola back in the 2014 worlds.
Norwood’s viral throwdown embodied Gilas’ mighty stand against some of the top dogs of the sport.
Croatia needed five extra minutes to score an 81-78 verdict; Argentina barely escaped with an 85-81 win; Puerto Rico had to claw back from a 12-point first quarter deficit before prevailing 77-73; and Greece had to fend off a furious Phl fightback before taking a 9280 victory. Gilas grabbed its lone win at the expense of Senegal, 81-79 in OT.
For the hostilities here, the Filipinos face a Marco Belinelli and Danilo Gallinari-led Italy, then a Nikola Jokic-bannered Serbia, and dangerous Angola in Group D play.
“It’s similar competition-wise, there are NBA talents in both situations and there’s a chip on our shoulders both situations. We want to prove that we’re world class; I think we made it this far, we want to kind of prove it to the rest of the world again,” said Norwood.
“We’re the underdogs but it’s like it’s okay. It’s great to shock people,” said naturalized player Andray Blatche. “Our main focus is to get two wins. Last time we got one, this time get two wins and advance.”
Gilas takes the first of three cracks for those two wins tonight against world No. 13 Italy at the Foshan International Sports & Cultural Arena in what Phl coach Yeng Guiao described as the most important game of this campaign.
With President Duterte himself at ringside, the Filipinos eye a massive upset against the Azzurri to get to a good position to go for No. 2 likely against Angola in the last day of group play.
“If we are to beat Italy, we must be playing close to our best basketball and Italy must be playing close to their worst basketball,” Guiao said. “But that can happen. It’s possible, especially with 100 million Filipinos praying for it.”