2019 Philippines FIBA Basketball World Cup team explained

See also: 2019 Philippines national basketball team results.

Club:Philippines
Chrtitle:President
Manager:Yeng Guiao
League:Preliminary round
League Result:Fourth place
League2:Classification round
League2 Result:Fourth place
Top Scorer:Andray Blatche
Ppg:15.8
Rebounds Leader:Andray Blatche
Rpg:8.4
Assists Leader:Andray Blatche
Apg:3.4
Largest Win:None
Largest Loss:
(2 September 2019)
H Body:FFFFFF
H Pattern B:_basketball_Gilas19b
H Shorts:FFFFFF
H Pattern S:_basketball_Gilas19b
A Body:0000ffff
A Pattern B:_basketball_Gilas19a
A Shorts:0000ffff
A Pattern S:_basketball_Gilas19a
Prevseason:2014
Nextseason:2023

The Philippines men's national basketball team competed in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup which was held in China from August 31 to September 15, 2019. This is the Philippines second straight appearance in the FIBA Basketball World Cup since its participation in the 2014 edition hosted in Spain.[1]

The team during the Asian qualifiers was initially coached by Chot Reyes and, later, Yeng Guiao. The team's qualification bid suffered a setback when the team still coached by Reyes was involved in a brawl with Australia which led to the suspension of players and officials forcing the Philippines to change its roster for the subsequent qualifier games.

Timeline

Qualification

Second round

Exhibition games

The schedule of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) season is one of the factors weighed in organizing exhibition games as preparation of the Philippine national team for the FIBA Basketball World Cup since majority of its players participate in the league. For this reason the Philippines' basketball federation, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), decided against the team's participation in the 2019 William Jones Cup due to conflicting schedule with the PBA. A pocket national teams' tournament to be held in Metro Manila was planned.[2]

Playing at least a match Australia was considered which was also intended as a goodwill measure to rebuild trust between the two national teams following the Philippines–Australia brawl.[3] However, Australia informed their Philippine counterparts that their schedule is already full so a scrimmage is not possible prior to the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Exhibition matches was considered against South Korea and New Zealand.[4]

The PBA Board also approved on April 25, 2019, a four-day training camp for the Philippine national team in Russia where they are expected to play games against local teams[5] along with consenting their players to participate in twice-a-week practices in June and July.[6] However, the Russian camp was cancelled after the Russian basketball federation could only commit one single tune-up match.[7]

Spain training camp

The Philippine national team had a training camp in Spain where they played tune ups against the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Ivory Coast in Guadalajara.[8] After the two games they participated in a pocket tournament in Spain,[7] which also involved the two African teams and the hosts.[9] The Philippines won their games against their two African opponents prior to the tournament. The tournament in Malaga had the Philippines tie up with DR Congo and the Ivory Coast with Spain. The winner of the two ties contested in the final while the losers played for third place.[10] The Philippines lost their second matchup against the DR Congo conceding an opportunity to play Spain which won over other African team in the pocket tournament.[11]

11 players out of the 19-man shortlist participated in the Spain training camp with majority of the players missing out are from 2019 PBA Commissioner's Cup finalists TNT KaTropa and San Miguel Beermen. Raymond Almazan who had his visa application denied, Jordan Clarkson, Stanley Pringle who is nursing a slight ankle injury, did not join the camp. Kiefer Ravena while part of the 11 players participating did not play in any of the tune up matches against national teams due to serving a FIBA suspension which is due to end a week prior to the world cup.[12]

Tune up matches at home

The first tune up game of the Philippine national team was against the 2019 William Jones Cup-bound local side Mighty Sports. Their game against the club ended in a draw with both teams scoring 85 points.[13] The national team also had a scrimmage against the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association playing four 25-minute, first to 21-points games against the professional team. NLEX won the first set with the national team winning the next three sets.[14]

Shortly before leaving for China, the national team had two tune-up matches against the Adelaide 36ers at the Meralco Gym in Pasig on August 23 and 25, 2019.[15] The national team won 92–83 over the Adelaide-based professional team[16] and conceded a 75–85 loss in the second game. Ravena after serving his 18-month FIBA suspension played in the second game.[17]

Summary

Against local-based sides
Tune up matches in Spain
  • Malaga Tournament
  • Goodwill Games
  • Roster

    The PBA has committed its players' participation in the FIBA Basketball World Cup. It was decided that the Philippines will field two separate teams for the intercontinental competition and the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, which the country will host. The SBP negotiated for FIBA's recognition of Jordan Clarkson of the Cleveland Cavaliers' eligibility to play as a "local player" rather than a "naturalized" player.[18] Head coach Yeng Guiao decided not to include Clarkson in the final roster due to the absence of a FIBA decision that would allow him to play as a local player.[19]

    A training pool was formed from where the team's coaching staff selected players from. Players who were invited to the pool includes Robert Bolick, Gabe Norwood, June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, Troy Rosario, Paul Lee, Raymond Almazan, Japeth Aguilar, CJ Perez, Kiefer Ravena, and Matthew Wright. Beau Belga and Stanley Pringle despite not being part of the pool also took part in training sessions. By June 5, 2019, no additional players are being invited to the pool.[20]

    A shortlist of 19 players was announced by the national federation which includes Blatche, Clarkson, and Pringle who are considered naturalized players by FIBA.[21] The final 12-man roster was officially announced to the public on August 25, 2019, after the second tune up game of the national team against the Adelaide 36ers,[22] with Poy Erram, Matthew Wright and Marcio Lassiter not making into the final squad due to injuries.[23] 2014 FIBA World Cup holdovers, Andray Blatche, June Mar Fajardo, and Japeth Aguilar are part of the roster.[24] The following were candidates to make the team:

    Player!scope="col" width="200px"
    TeamAddedRemovedReason
    July 15, 2019August 21, 2019 Eligibility
    August 23, 2019 Injury[25]
    August 25, 2019 Injury
    Injury
    12-man
    roster cut
    Barangay Ginebra San Miguel

    Jayson Castro who was not included in the training pool reportedly opted out in July 2019 from the national team's preparations due to undisclosed personal reasons.[26]

    Staff

    PositionStaff memberAgeTeam
    Head coach NLEX Road Warriors
    Assistant coaches NLEX Road Warriors
    Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
    [27]
    Age – describes age on 31 August 2019

    Uniform

    Group phase

    See main article: Group D. The Philippines was drawn into Group D with Serbia, Italy, and Angola and played all of its group phase matches in Foshan at the Foshan International Sports and Cultural Center from August 31 to September 4. During this round, the national team was billeted at the Hilton Foshan Hotel which is situated 5.9km (03.7miles) from the indoor arena.[29] The Philippine national team left Manila by plane for Guangzhou, China on August 29, 2019, and after arriving in the Guangdong province capital departed for Foshan via bus.[30]

    The Philippines hoped to progress to the next round with the tie against Italy and Angola tagged as crucial by head coach Yeng Guiao. Expectations of winning against Serbia was tempered but Guiao hoped for the team to win against Italy. Assuming the Philippines won over Italy and lose to Serbia, Guiao said that the Philippines had to win against Angola or the hypothetical win over Italy would have been rendered as "useless".[31]

    Guiao also sent his assistants Sandy Arespacochaga and Ford Arao to China ahead of the rest of the team and tasked them to do scouting on Serbia and Italy which played a tune up game against each other on August 23, 2019.[32]

    All times are local UTC+8.

    Italy

    This was the second game between the Philippines and Italy in the World Cup with the Italians winning on their first meeting in 1978. The two teams last played each other in the 2016 Imperial Basketball City Tournament as part of the Philippines' preparation for the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament where the Italians won over the Filipinos by 36 points.[33]

    The Philippines lost their opener 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup game against Italy. The Philippines's opening campaign was marred by poor shooting performance with Filipinos only successfully executed three of the 23 three pointer attempts and the first three points made with 7:03 left in the fourth quarter. In contrast, the Italians accomplished 15 of their 31 three-pointer attempts and made 30 assists compared to 10 assists by the Filipinos. Philippines Head coach Yeng Guiao also concluded that team made too much turnovers.[34]

    The Philippines trailed heavily as early as the end of first quarter with the team only scoring 8 points compared to the 37 points made by the Italians.[35]

    valign=top align=right width=33%
    Philippines StatisticsItaly
    22/41 (54%) 2-pt field goals 24/36 (67%)
    3/23 (13%) 3-pt field goals 15/31 (48%)
    9/12 (75%) Free throws 15/21 (71%)
    13 Offensive rebounds 10
    21 Defensive rebounds 28
    34 Total rebounds 38
    10 Assists 30
    23 Turnovers 13
    5 Steals 13
    1 Blocks 3
    22 Fouls 16

    Serbia

    This was the first competitive game between Serbia and the Philippines.Serbia had a slow start to the game and the Philippines tried to grow in the confidence. Tied at 7-all with six minutes left in the opening quarter, center Nikola Jokić came off the bench and the Serbian offense started to roll. The Serbs used a 7–0 run to close the first 10 minutes with a 25–13 lead. Forward Nemanja Bjelica came off the bench making all 7 of his field-goal attempts, including 3 three-pointers to finish with a game-high 20 points in just 16 minutes of action. Serbia not only out-rebounded Philippines 37–23, but they finished with 37 assists against Philippines' 14.[36]

    This is the game won by largest points margin at 59 for the Serbians at any of major tournaments since 2006.[37] [38] With 37 team assists Serbia set the World Cup record for the most assists in a single game.[39]

    Angola

    This was the first competitive game between Angola and the Philippines.Unlike in games against Italy and Serbia which ended in heavy defeats, the Philippines performed relatively better against Angola. While Angola lead throughout most of regulation time, the Philippines kept the gap to a manageable levels trailing 12 points at most. By the time when there was only 2:33 of time remaining in the fourth quarter, the Philippines were leading Angola 70–67. Angolan player Carlos Morais restored the Angolan lead rendering the scoreline 70–73. CJ Perez tied the game by scoring a three pointer but the Philippines failed to score further baskets forcing the game to go overtime. However the Philippines failed to secure the win in overtime.[40]

    Classification round

    See main article: Group N. The Philippines finished last among four teams in Group C and was grouped with Angola, Iran and Tunisia in Group N in the classification round. The Philippines played games against the latter two[41] in Beijing with the result of their loss to Angola carrying over. Had they progressed to the second round as one of the top two finishers of Group C, they would have played against Puerto Rico and Spain in Wuhan.[29]

    Tunisia

    The Philippines' bid to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics as the best Asian team in the 2019 FIBA World Cup ended when Tunisia defeated them. Tunisia led the Philippines early with the first quarter ending in a 27–10 scoreline in favor of the North Africans.[42]

    Iran

    The Philippines' last game in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup is against Iran. The Philippines lost both of its two 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifier games to Iran; a 73–81 defeat in Tehran and a 70–78 loss at home in Pasay. Iran was coming off from a 71–62 win against Angola, their first in the tournament, and was still in contention for a berth at the 2020 Summer Olympics while the Philippines was looking to secure at least a win.[43]

    The Philippines kept the game close in the first quarter trailing only a point, 25–24, with 37.5 seconds left in the clock with its players successfully executing six of its eleven attempted three pointers. However the first quarter ended 30–24 in favor of Iran. CJ Perez restored the close gap of 34–31 in the second quarter but the first half ended in a 48–34 score still favoring Iran. Iran was leading the Philippines by 23 points, 64–41, with 4:10 left in the third quarter with the Philippines unable to restore at least a small gap in the scoreline.[44] Mid-way in the fourth quarter Andray Blatche was fouled out after incurring two technical fouls after he argued with the referees regarding an alleged foul on him.[45]

    Aftermath

    The Philippines ended their 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign without a win after playing five games, finishing dead last as a result of their poor performance. They also didn't manage to clinch the single outright Asian berth for the 2020 Summer Olympics by failing to finish as the best performing team from FIBA Asia with Iran, the Philippines' last opponent claiming the berth instead.[46] The only route for the Philippines to qualify for the Summer Olympics is to get invited as one of the two Asian wildcard teams for the Olympic qualifying tournaments.[42] An invite was not given, thus extending their drought in participation in the Olympic basketball tournament. Eventually, however, the country was invited to the 2020 FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade as New Zealand withdrew from the tournament, opening up a spot as the next highest ranked Asian team. The country finished its OQT campaign with losses to Serbia and the Dominican Republic, the former of which was by a close margin.

    Head coach Yeng Guiao cited the lack of preparation as the reason for the Philippines' dismal performance in the world cup and reasoned that preparation should be started years prior to the tournament but added that the team did their best despite "limitations". He also suggested that the national team should gain more experience playing against teams outside Asia particularly European and Latin American teams.[47]

    Guiao eventually resigned as the team's head coach.

    Tim Cone became the new head coach of the Philippines, who clinched the gold medal in the Men's basketball tournament of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, which the country hosted. The team's gold medal victory contributed to the country's medal haul of 149 gold medals, out of the 387 medals won by the Philippines.

    Since then, Jong Uichico and Tab Baldwin had stints as head coach of the country, the latter of which guided the team in their 3-0 run in the final window of the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers and the 2020 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Since February 2022, former national team coach Chot Reyes has been at the helm of the national team.

    The Philippines is set to participate in the next edition of the World Cup in 2023, as one of the hosts,[48] taking on 2019 foes Angola and Italy, and 2020 OQT opponents the Dominican Republic in the group phase.

    Under Reyes' current stint as head coach, the team also participated in the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia, finishing 9th, and participated in the qualification process for the 2023 World Cup, finishing 2nd and 3rd in the first round and second round respectively, albeit being automatically qualified as one of the hosts. The team also finished silver in the 2021 Southeast Asian Games for the first time since 1989, losing to Indonesia, but reclaimed the gold medal at the 2023 edition in Cambodia.

    See also

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. News: Lintag . Paul . FIBA: Strong prep key for strong Gilas performance in World Cup . 13 April 2019 . ABS-CBN Sports . 21 March 2019.
    2. News: Dy . Richard . SBP mulls pocket tournament for Gilas instead of Jones Cup . 13 April 2019 . ESPN . 1 March 2019.
    3. News: Ramos . Josef . Guiao wants friendlies with Aussies for WC preparation . 24 April 2019 . Manila Times . 24 April 2019.
    4. News: Lozada . Bong . No Gilas-Australia friendlies for World Cup prep due to schedule conflict . 29 April 2019 . Philippine Daily Inquirer . 26 April 2019.
    5. News: Leyba . Olmin . Gilas' Russian buildup okayed . 29 April 2019 . The Philippine Star . 26 April 2019.
    6. News: Terrado . Jonas . PBA Board okays Gilas Russia camp . 29 April 2019 . Tempo . 26 April 2019.
    7. News: No Russia camp for Gilas, but Spain training in the pipeline . 1 June 2019 . ABS-CBN News . 30 May 2019.
    8. News: Lozada . Bong . Despite incomplete pool, Gilas Pilipinas steps up preps for Fiba World Cup . 3 August 2019 . Philippine Daily Inquirer . 26 July 2019.
    9. News: La Selección se medirá a Costa de Marfil en agosto en Málaga. National Team to be tested against Costa Rica in August in Malaga. 26 July 2019 . AS.com . EFE . 20 June 2019 . Spanish.
    10. News: Terrado . Jonas . A 2nd win over Congo sets Gilas PH up against Spain . 10 August 2019 . Manila Bulletin . 9 August 2019.
    11. News: Terrado . Jonas . Gilas blows chance to face Spain in Malaga . 10 August 2019 . Manila Bulletin . 10 August 2019.
    12. News: Dioquino . Delfin . Gilas to miss almost half of 19-man pool for Spain camp . 3 August 2019 . Rappler . 3 August 2019.
    13. News: Naredo . Camille . No wasted days for Gilas Pilipinas . 26 July 2019 . ABS-CBN News . 11 July 2019.
    14. News: Villanueva . Eros . Shorthanded Gilas gets much-needed reps with help of NLEX . 3 August 2019 . ESPN . 29 July 2019.
    15. News: Terrado . Jonas . Gilas vs Adelaide . 26 July 2019 . Manila Bulletin . 13 July 2019.
    16. News: Dy . Richard . Blatche posts near triple-double as Gilas Pilipinas takes down Adelaide 36ers . 25 August 2019 . ESPN . 23 August 2019.
    17. News: Naredo . Camille . Ravena returns, but Gilas bows to 36ers in second tune-up game . 25 August 2019 . ABS-CBN News . 25 August 2019.
    18. News: Go . Beatrice . SBP continues Clarkson talks for FIBA World Cup . 13 April 2019 . Rappler . 9 April 2019.
    19. News: Terrado . Reuben . Guiao on bid to have Clarkson at Fiba worlds: 'It's too late at this point' . 25 August 2019 . Sports Interactive Network Philippines . 21 August 2019.
    20. News: Lozada . Bong . No more pool invites as Yeng Guiao focuses on final Gilas team for Fiba World Cup . 26 July 2019 . Philippine Daily Inquirer . 5 July 2019.
    21. News: Saldajeno . Ivan Stewart . SBP bares Gilas pool for FIBA worlds . 26 July 2019 . Philippine News Agency . 16 July 2019.
    22. News: Young guns Bolick, Perez make cut as Gilas 12 lineup for FIBA World Cup announced . 25 August 2019 . CNN Philippines . 25 August 2019 . 25 August 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190825151600/https://cnnphilippines.com/sports/2019/8/25/gilas-12-lineup-fiba-world-cup-2019.html . dead .
    23. News: Naredo . Camille . Kiefer, Blatche lead Gilas line-up for FIBA World Cup . 25 August 2019 . ABS-CBN News . 25 August 2019.
    24. News: Aguilera . John Paulo . This new-look Gilas squad is actually built for the World Cup . 29 August 2019 . Sports Interactive Network Philippines . 29 August 2019.
    25. Web site: Marcio Lassiter ruled out of Gilas roster for FIBA World Cup. 23 August 2019.
    26. News: Marquez . CJ . Guiao reveals Castro's status for FIBA World Cup in doubt . 26 July 2019 . CNN Philippines . 17 June 2019 . 13 July 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190713173354/https://cnnphilippines.com/sports/2019/6/17/jayson-castro-yeng-guiao-gilas-fiba-world-cup.html . dead .
    27. News: Henson . Joaquin . Spanish trainer joins Gilas staff . 17 August 2019 . Philippine Star . 17 August 2019.
    28. News: New Look Unveiled for Gilas Pilipinas . 9 September 2019 . ABS-CBN News . 15 August 2019.
    29. News: Henson . Joaquin . Gilas Pilipinas plots pathway to Tokyo . 13 April 2019 . The Philippine Star . 22 March 2019.
    30. News: Terrado . Jonas . Gilas Pilipinas touches down at Foshan . 29 August 2019 . Manila Bulletin . 29 August 2019.
    31. News: Giongco . Mark . Gilas Pilipinas not taking lower-ranked Angola for granted . 9 September 2019 . Philippine Daily Inquirer . 28 August 2019.
    32. News: Leyba . Olmin . Gilas: All attention on Italians . 9 September 2019 . The Philippine Star . 28 August 2019.
    33. News: Ansis . JC . Gilas Pilipinas falls to Italy in FIBA World Cup opener . 9 September 2019 . ESPN . 31 August 2019.
    34. News: Dioquino . Delfin . In 'must-win' game vs Italy, Gilas Pilipinas fires blanks . 9 September 2019 . Rappler . 1 September 2019.
    35. News: Morales . Luisa . Dismal start doomed Gilas vs Italy, says Ateneo's Baldwin . 9 September 2019 . The Philippine Star . 1 September 2019.
    36. Web site: Serbia dispatch Philippines to advance to the Second Round . fiba.basketball . 2 September 2019.
    37. Web site: SERBIA POWERFUL AGAINST PHILIPPINES . kss.rs . 6 September 2019 . 4 September 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190904085757/http://kss.rs/eng/serbia-powerful-against-philippines/ . dead .
    38. Web site: Najubedljivija pobeda u istoriji Srbije! . mozzartsport.com . 2 September 2019 . Serbian.
    39. Web site: Rekordna utakmica "Orlova" . b92.net . 2 September 2019. Serbian.
    40. News: Leyba . Olmin . Gilas drops OT heartbreaker vs Angola . 9 September 2019 . The Philippine Star . 5 September 2019.
    41. News: Terrado . Reuben . Gilas Pilipinas' outright Olympic bid still alive after China loss . 4 September 2019 . Sports Interactive Network Philippines . 4 September 2019.
    42. News: Saldajeno . Ivan Stewart . Tunisia denies Gilas Pilipinas of outright Olympic shot . 9 September 2019 . Philippine News Agency . 7 September 2019.
    43. News: Naredo . Camille . Amid skid, Gilas has Iran's respect ahead of rivalry match . 9 September 2019 . ABS-CBN News . 8 September 2019.
    44. News: Naredo . Camille . Hot start fizzles vs Iran as Gilas ends FIBA World Cup winless . 9 September 2019 . ABS-CBN News . 9 September 2019.
    45. News: Dioquino . Delfin . Frustration hits tipping point as Blatche ends FIBA World Cup ejected . 9 September 2019 . Rappler . 9 September 2019.
    46. News: Saldajeno . Ivan Stewart . Iran snags outright Olympics entry of Gilas Men . 9 September 2019 . Philippine News Agency . 9 September 2019.
    47. News: Castillo . Musong . Lack of prep time reason why Gilas fumbled—Guiao . 9 September 2019 . Philippine Daily Inquirer . 9 September 2019.
    48. News: Lintag . Paul . Despite horror World Cup, "exciting times" ahead for Gilas says Gabe . 9 September 2019 . ABS-CBN News . 9 September 2019.