THE Philippines braces for bigger stumbling blocks as Gilas Pilipinas heads into the quarterfinals as Group B top-notcher in the International Basketball Federation Asia Cup in Beirut, Lebanon.
Regardless of the result of Gilas’s game against Qatar on Sunday night, the Filipinos will still come up as the No. 1 team in Group B because of a superior quotient they drew from convincing wins over China (96-87) and Iraq (84-68).
Waiting for the Philippines in the quarterfinals are Oceania powerhouse squads New Zealand in Group C and Australia in Group D.
And Gilas Head Coach Chot Reyes is aware of the tougher battle ahead.
“We have to keep the low-key attitude and have the hunger in us,” Reyes told Fiba.com.
Gilas would face in the quarterfinals either Japan or South Korea, two teams with the potential to go deeper in the tournament.
South Korea (Group C) and Japan (Group D) have identical 2-1 won-loss records and will be vying for the right to face the Philippines in a crossover do-or-die match-up on Tuesday.
Unbeaten Middle East teams Iran and Jordan are vying for the top spot in Group A, with the winner taking on either host Lebanon or Chinese Taipei in the next round.
There are multiple scenarios in the quarterfinal round that starts on Wednesday, but what Gilas has is the luxury to prepare for battle.
Injured big man June Mar Fajardo looked to have recovered from his calf injury and has already joined the team’s practice last Sunday.
Fajardo’s presence would add ceiling to Gilas, which, in its first two games drew explosive performances from Christian Standhardinger, Raymond Almazan and Japeth Aguilar.