Nationals look ahead to next round

CHANGSHA – The Philippines takes on Kuwait in its final game of the Group B first round preliminaries at the 28th FIBA Asia Championships this afternoon with an eye on the matchups ahead to determine the pairing in the knockout quarterfinals on Oct. 1.

After starting the tournament on the wrong foot with an upset loss to Palestine, the Philippines is hoping to end the second round with a high ranking so as to meet a lower seed in the do-or-die quarterfinals.

In the second round, the Philippines will play the top three finishers of Group A, expected to be Iran, Japan and India or Malaysia. The top four finishers in the six-team second round combining survivors from Groups A and B will then advance to the knockout quarterfinals against the top four finishers from Groups C and D. If the Philippines winds up second from Groups A and B, it will play No. 3 from Groups C and D. Since the competition in Groups C and D is wide open, the No. 3 team could be Lebanon, Chinese-Taipei or Qatar, assuming China and Korea will take the top two spots.

The knockout quarterfinals will determine which teams move on to the semifinals. It’s always a dangerous situation in the knockout quarterfinals because a loss will mean a best possible finish of fifth place. At the 2011 edition, Jordan upset Iran, 88-84, in the knockout quarterfinals and went on to play in the final against China. It was the only FIBA Asia staging in the last four tournaments where Iran failed to capture the championship. At the 2013 joust in Manila, Chinese-Taipei stunned China, 96-78, in the knockout quarterfinals and eventually finished fourth behind Iran, the Philippines and Korea.

It’s critical for Gilas to win in the quarterfinals because that would keep alive the country’s hopes of making a long-awaited return to the Olympics since 1972. Only the winner of this year’s tournament earns an outright ticket to represent Asia at the Rio Games. But the second, third and fourth placers – the other semifinalists – will be invited to participate in three separate Olympic qualifiers in July next year.

But first things first. There is Kuwait to hurdle at 4:45 p.m. today. It should be easy sailing for Glas particularly as Kuwait stars Mohammed Ashkanani and Hussein Alkhabazz are out of commission. Ashkanani made the trip here to provide moral support for his teammates. Kuwait coach Khaled Yousef said Ashkanani has Achilles heel issues in both feet and will sit out the tournament. Kuwait reported for duty here with only 10 players.

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After sitting out the 2011 and 2013 tournaments, Kuwait is back at the FIBA Asia Championships, qualifying with Qatar out of the Gulf. Kuwait beat Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Oman to return to the regional competition. At the 2009 edition, Kuwait was 11th of 16 and claimed Uzbekistan and United Arab Emirates as victims.

In Kuwait’s first appearance in this year’s FIBA Asia Championships last Wednesday, the team was mauled by Hong Kong, 87-50. Hong Kong had the edge in fastbreak points, 22-0, turnover points, 27-8, rebounds, 49-33 and assists, 17-9 in the most telling departments. Only Mashari Abu Dhom finished in double figure points with 15. Gilas should run Kuwait to the ground in their encounter and join Palestine and Hong Kong in the next round.

Gilas started strong but finished weak in bowing to Palestine, 75-73, also last Wednesday. The Philippines had 27 points in the first period and only 14 in the fourth. Palestine worked its way patiently from a 16-point deficit to clinch the win on the sniping of Jamal Abu Shamala.

Before the second round is over, the Philippines will play defending champion Iran. That will test Gilas’ mettle. If the Philippines is able to repulse Iran, then Gilas will be back in serious title contention. It’s an uphill climb and a major challenge for the Philippines to recover from the early stumble. But with conviction and heart, there isn’t anything Gilas can’t do on the basketball court.