AFTER several poor finishes in major international tournaments, the Philippines found itself falling three rungs down to 30th place in the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) rankings.
Gilas Pilipinas’s seventh-place finish in the previous Fiba Asia Cup did not keep the country at No. 27 in the world, its best ranking in years built around back-to-back runner-up finishes in the 2013 and 2015 continental championships behind Iran and China.
The Philippines also dropped to No. 5 in Asia behind Australia (No. 9 world), Iran (22nd), China (24th) and New Zealand (27th).
Despite falling behind in the world rankings, Gilas Head Coach Chot Reyes said that the team is on track in its rebuilding process.
“In the end, it has nothing to do with how we play on the court. It’s just a gauge of the progress of how far we’ve gone,” Reyes said.
Gilas is preparing for the qualifiers of the 2019 Fiba World Cup next month.
The Philippines is in Group B with Australia, Chinese Taipei and Japan.