Gilas Pilipinas fights lowly Singapore

MANILA, Philippines - Gilas Pilipinas seeks to keep its hold of Group B lead and gain momentum going to the more important matches as it plays Singapore today in the fifth FIBA Asia Cup at the Wuhan Sports Centre in Wuhan, China.

Trouncing Chinese Taipei, 78-64, Saturday, the Nationals are fancied to make it two in a row versus the lowly Singaporeans in their 2:45 p.m. tiff kicking off a triple-bill that also pits India versus Indonesia at 5:15 p.m. then China opposite Japan at 7:30 p.m.

The Singaporeans are the lowest-ranked team in Group B, rated lower than Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia in their FIBA SEABA zone dominated by the Philippines.

But the Nationals face an acid test against Jordan at 5:15 p.m. tomorrow.

Coach Chot Reyes is looking for such challenge here as part of their buildup for the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain beginning Aug. 30.

One good test came at the hands of Chinese Taipei Saturday.

“Almost 30 turnovers may not be the best way to go forward. But I’m not complaining,” said Reyes after their scrambling 14-point win over the Taiwanese.

“This is the first game after a long time. Some guys are just coming off a long PBA season. And some of them are wearing this uniform for the first time,” Reyes pointed out. “There’s bound to be some pressure, but I think we’ll come along alright.”

The Nationals blew away an early 16-point spread and needed to fight back from a six-point deficit late in the third period to win their first game since their breakthrough second-place finish in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.

Gilas Pilipinas, also preparing for the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Korea in September, hopes to sweep its group-play assignments for top seeding in the knockout matches.

If they top Group B, the Filipinos play either the Indians or the Indonesians in the quarterfinals.

Host China, Iran and Japan are likely to finish in that order with either India or Indonesia taking fourth in Group A.

The Chinese topped the reigning champs Iranians, 64-51, while the Japanese bested the Indians, 75-52, late Saturday.

The young Chinese team overcame Hamed Haddadi’s 15-point and nine-rebound game as they notched a second straight win in the tourney following a 105-37 thrashing of the Indonesians Friday.