Gilas Pilipinas turn things around, downs India to end the first round of qualifiers on a winning note in the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers.
Gilas Pilipinas took homecourt game to their advantage as they bounce back and beat India, 79-63, to improve to 2-2
in the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers.
Dwight Ramos led the undermanned Gilas squad, now down to just 10 men in uniform, as he erupted with 13 points at the half to give a comfortable lead and ended the night with 21 points, five rebounds, two assists and four steals.
After a horrible showing at the New Zealand game, Ramos together with Kiefer Ravena led in the offensive side, with the latter putting up 12 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals, before home fans at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena.
Carl Tamayo also chipped in a near double-double with nine points, nine rebounds and three steals while William Navarro tallied 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Muin Bek Hafeez was the bright spot for the Indians’ losswith 13 points.
“We needed the win. We had a tough trip to New Zealand – literally,” said Gilas Pilipinas head coach Nenad Vucinic.
“The way we got there, it was very difficult to play that game because of the level of opposition. We were all disappointed with our performance so we needed to bounce back.”
It was a much- needed win for the national team to finish the first round of the qualifiers with a 2-2 (win-loss) record and snap a streak of two losses, both against New Zealand which includes the 46-point defeat just last Thursday.
Gilas will then carry their record to the second round with New Zealand (4-0) and India (0-4) where they will merge with the top three teams from Group C, namely Lebanon (4-1), Saudi Arabia (3-2), and Jordan (3-2) to form Group E.
Tags: #basketball, #FIBA, #Gilas