MANILA – China men’s basketball team are determined to end their 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign on a winning note as they battle Gilas Pilipinas tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After notching their first win of the tournament at the expense of Angola, 83-76, China is extra motivated to score back-to-back against the home team to have a shot at an outright seat in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“We’re not quitters. We don’t quit. We keep fighting, and I don’t think anyone on this team is quitting,” the 29-year-old Anderson said. “We’re professionals, so I’m sure all of us will be ready to go.”
“We’re taking it one step at a time right now. We have to focus on what we gotta do with the Philippines and we’ll look at that picture (next),” he added. “We will just try to do (to Gilas) what we did against Angola.”
A victory by China against Gilas Pilipinas will not guarantee them an Olympics slot as they need to pray that Japan will lose to Cape Verde also tonight at the Okinawa Arena in Japan.
Japan, one of the three FIBA World Cup co-host, moved closer to the outright Olympics seat after scoring a come-from-behind 86-77 victory over Venezuela on Thursday night behind the efforts of Makoto Hiejima and Phoenix Suns forward Yuta Watanabe.
Anderson, who plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA, is aware that the China-Philippines matchup would be intense despite a no-bearing game for the home team as it involved sporting and national pride between the two Asian nations.
“It’s gonna be an intense environment. They are a really good team. They have some good players over there, and with the crowd on their side, it’ll be a tough environment,” Anderson said.
Anderson, who had underwhelming averages of 10.3 points per game for China, added that he is looking forward to facing fellow NBA player Jordan Clarkson, who is playing as a naturalized player for Gilas.
“I’ve been playing against Clarkson since college, so it’s always fun to go up against him. It’s always fun to compete with him,” said the 29-year-old Anderson, a former standout of UCLA in college./PN
