Gilas Pilipinas will face three familiar foes in the group stage of the 2023 FIBA World Cup after they were drawn into Group A with world no. 10 Italy, no. 23 Dominican Republic and no. 41 Angola.
Gilas is ranked 40th in the latest FIBA rankings and will open its campaign against the Dominican Republic on Aug. 25 at Philippine Arena before facing Angola and Italy on Aug. 27 and 29 respectively at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
In the 2019 World Cup, Gilas was also grouped with Italy and Angola, losing to the Azzurri by 46 and the African nation by three in overtime en route to a last-placed finish in the 32-team field. In the 2021 Olympic qualifying tournament in Belgrade, Gilas lost to the Dominicans by 27.
"Not ideal, but could have been worse" was how Gilas coach Chot Reyes described their group after the draw held in late April.
Since then, Gilas has undergone a European training camp and a pocket tournament in China and will play three tune-ups starting on Aug. 18 to familiarize themselves with different international playing styles.
Gilas has to emerge as one of the top two teams in Group A to advance to the second round.
Barring a major upset, Italy will likely be the group winner, meaning Gilas has to overcome both Angola and Dominican Republic, both of which may parade NBA players.
Here, we take a look at both teams and the preparations they've undertaken so far.
Group stage foes
Angola is ranked fourth in Africa and is 7.4 points behind the Philippines in the FIBA rankings. They qualified by going 10-2 in the African qualifiers, twice beating no. 1 Nigeria.
So far, they haven't done well in their international friendlies, as they've lost four tune-up games in August against Mexico, Jordan, Portugal and Japan, although they beat Venezuela in July.
Angola's most notable player is Atlanta Hawks forward Bruno Fernando, who averaged 11.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in three games in the African qualifiers. He will team up with youngster Jilson Bagno and veteran Silvio Sousa in patrolling the paint.
But their most important player is 5-foot-6 point guard Childe Dundao, who put up 12.1 points and appeared in all 12 games. Another player to watch is 6-4 guard Gerson Goncalves, who averaged 10.3 points in 12 games.
At the 2019 World Cup in Foshan, 6-9 Valdelício Joaquim led Angola with 20 points while Andray Blatche paced Gilas with 23. Both players are no longer active for their national teams.
Dominican Republic is ranked 7th in FIBA Americas and qualified for the World Cup by going 10-2, with their two losses coming against heavyweight Canada. The last of those ten wins was against traditional powerhouse Argentina, a result that ousted the perennial contenders and 2019 runners-up.
In the OQT against a Gilas team composed mostly of amateur standouts and reinforced by Ange Kouame, the Dominicans were led by Victor Liz's 23 points. Jordan Heading led Gilas with 16, with Kouame adding ten.
Liz was also their leading scorer in the qualifiers with 15.3PPG and will be with the team in Manila. No player from that 2021 Gilas OQT team will suit up in the World Cup.
The Dominicans dropped their first two tune-up games in August, losing to Puerto Rico and Latvia.
They're slated to compete in the Torneo Ciudad de Granada where they'll encounter stiff competition against powerhouses Canada and Spain on back-to-back days beginning on Aug. 18 before they wrap up their pre-tournament schedule with a friendly against Egypt in Manila on Aug. 23.
As impressive as their FIBA Americas run was, Dominican Republic got a big boost after Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns officially joined the team earlier this month.
Even though fellow NBA players Al Horford and Chris Duarte begged off, KAT's mere presence is more than enough to label them serious contenders in Group A.
What lies further ahead
Should Gilas make it out of Group A, they will advance to Group I in the second round where they will carry over their record in Group A and play the top two teams in Group B, which is composed of Serbia, Puerto Rico, China and South Sudan.
A top two finish in Group I will ensure Gilas a spot in the quarterfinals. If they can't make it out of Group A, they will be relegated to the classification rounds for 17th to 32nd places.
While putting on a good run in front of a home crowd is ideal, the team isn't losing sight of what's really at stake in the FIBA World Cup: a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Philippines has not played in the Olympics since 1972, and it can end the drought by finishing as the highest-placed Asian team in the World Cup.
"It's important that our other Asian competitors are in tough groups because the best Asian team is the one that plays in the Olympics," Reyes noted. "Remember, our objective is to get into the Olympics in 2024. That's the goal."
Of all the Asian teams, China appears to be in the most favorable group.
Co-hosts Japan drew a tough group that includes Olympic bronze medalists Australia, Germany and Finland. Jordan is in a nightmare group with the USA, Greece and New Zealand.
Lebanon also doesn't have it easy with Canada, Latvia and France. Iran, which represented Asia at the Tokyo Olympics, will face defending champions Spain, Ivory Coast and Brazil.