THE Philippines locks horns with Australia with Gilas Pilipinas hoping to ride the momentum of its previous blowout win over Chinese Taipei at the close today of the third window of the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Gilas Pilipinas also hopes to face an Aussie side still unable to recover from falling to to the upset ax wielded by Japan in the 7:30 p.m. match set at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
The Filipinos are coming off a 93-71 win over Chinese Taipei in the Taiwanese turf last Friday, a morale-boosting victory that Gilas hopes to take advantage of when they play before their countrymen at the 55,000-seat stadium.
While the Filipinos were taking charge of the Taiwanese last Friday, the Aussies were struggling against the Japanese and fell, 78-79. Australia is the top-ranked team in the group at No. 10.
With the cloak of invincibility now shattered, Gilas and the Boomers enter the court on the same footing at the culmination of Group B hostilities. Both teams sport a 4-1 won-loss record.
June Mar Fajardo had another performance for the books and exploded with 22 points in an efficient 9-of-12 shooting against Chinese Taipei.
Fajardo’s relentless pounding underneath the basket gave Gilas’s opponents headaches, especially when the Filipinos turned a slow start into a fearsome finish for a 22-point drubbing of the home team.
Naturalized player Andray Blatche scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while backcourt tandem Jayson Castro and Terrence Romeo contributed 15 and 14 points, respectively.
“That big win against Taipei is going to help us. It gives us momentum going up against Australia,” Gilas Head Coach Chot Reyes said.
Minutes before the final buzzer sounded at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium, Japan made waves by edging Australia at home at the Chiba Port Arena.
Not even the presence of the Milwaukee Bucks’s Thon Maker and Matthew Dellavedova could prevent Australia’s first setback since the Asia and Oceania merger last year.
But the upset could also mean a threat to the Filipinos as Reyes noted that the visitors will obviously go for a comeback win.
“They will really come like wounded tigers into us today. So we just have to be ready and play our best,” Reyes said.