MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas faces a must-win situation in the sixth and final window of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifier where they will be on the road against Qatar on Friday and Kazakhstan on Sunday.
The national team is currently at fourth place in Group F with 5-5 behind Australia (9-1), Iran (7-3), Japan (6-4). Behind the Philippine squad were Kazakhstan (4-6) and Qatar (2-8).
The other group, meanwhile, is composed of already-qualified New Zealand and South Korea, China and Lebanon, both with 6-4 win-loss slate and Jordan at 5-5 and Syria, which is already out.
The top three teams from each group and the best 4th-placed team will qualify for the World Cup. China, as the host of the 2019 World Cup, will not be included among the seven teams which will qualify.
The best scenario for Gilas is a sweep and hope Japan loses one of its last two games. In that event, both teams will end up with 7-5 slates and Philippines will gain the third spot after beating Japan twice in the earlier window.
If Japan wins both of its matches, the Philippines will drop to fourth place and will hope for a favorable scenario in the other group, that is China will not go down lower than fourth in Group E.
If China ends up at third or fourth in Group E, Gilas will advance as the best 4th-placed team in the qualifiers. Lebanon and Jordan still have a chance of overtaking China in the standings but are facing tougher foes.
Kazakhstan also has a chance of snatching the qualification slot from the Philippines if it pulled off an upset on Australia and score a repeat on the national squad.
“We feel very confident that we can make it to the World Cup. Our objective from the beginning is to really try and get to the World Cup,” said Gilas head coach Yeng Guiao, who has a 1-3 record since taking over the national team chores./PN
