Gilas Pilipinas' 6'6” forward Marc Pingris goes up against India's 6'9” center Amritpal Singh in the Philippines vs. India match Tuesday in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in Changsa, China. JAY R. GOTERA
MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas finds itself in the best possible position in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship after emerging as the top seed in Group E ahead of the knockout quarterfinals matches Thursday in Changsa, China. The Philippines will go up against Group F fourth-seed Lebanon. The other quarterfinal matches will see Group E second-seed Iran battling Group F third-seed Korea, Group E third-seed Japan vs. Group F second-seed Qatar, and Group F top-seed China vs. Group E fourth-seed India. Although Gilas suffered a heart-breaker when it lost to Palestine in its opening game, this was rendered meaningless by the Philippines' epic conquest of Iran in Round 2 that cleared two huge hurdles on the Filipinos' possible path to the finals. By beating Iran and topping Group E, the Filipinos avoided an early clash with the two teams that could give them their biggest worry in the quarterfinals and semifinals — Korea and China. If Gilas beats underdog Lebanon Thursday, the Filipinos will meet the winner of the match between Japan and Qatar, either of which the Filipinos feel more confident of beating than powerhouse China. In contrast, if Iran beats Korea and China does not suffer a colossal upset against India, Iran and China — the two giants of Asian basketball — will figure in an early do-or-die clash in the semifinals, with the bruised winner finally meeting the resurgent Gilas squad for the championship and the lone ticket to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Lebanon, the Philippines' next hurdle, clinched the last berth to the next round after edging Jordan in a knockout match, 80-76, Tuesday. Lebanon and Jordan both ended the second round with identical 2-3 win-loss cards, but Lebanon got the fourth seed via the winner-over-the other rule. Lebanon coach Veselin Matic conceded that his team is the definite underdog in Thursday's clash with the Philippines, noting that naturalized center Andray Blatche is playing at a level no team can match. “He's a (Blatche) a very good player. I'm very surprised that he's not in the NBA,” he said. “He's a quality player, a top NBA player. Now he's a little bit out of shape, but he's the best player here,” Matic told reporters in Changsa, China. Matic is also wary of Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin, the 57-year-old American-New Zealander who was the coach of Lebanon team in 2010. “He's a great coach,” Matic said of Baldwin, who coached Jordan in the 2011 FIBA Asia championship in Wuhan, China. Jordan nearly won the championship but lost to China by a single point, 69-70. Comparing the two teams in terms of stats, the Philippines and Lebanon are just about even. The Philippines shoots an average 49.7 percent in two-point field goals (FG) to Lebanon's 50.2 percent. Lebanon also has a higher three-point FG at 39.3 percent compared to the Philippines' 36.2 percent. But the Filipinos should win the battle of the boards, averaging 49 per game to Lebanon's 39.8. The two teams are even on assists with 12.5 average per game. Lebanon commits more turnovers at 13.7 per game to the Philippines' 11.7.
