FIBA: Hot-shooting Italy sends Philippines to early exit

Italy banked on its hot outside shooting on Tuesday to eliminate the Philippines, 90-83, and advance to the second round of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The Italians trailed by three at the end of the first quarter, 23-20, but they outscored Gilas Pilipinas 28 to 16 in the second to take the lead, 48-39, and never let it go.

The visitors drained 17 treys on 41 attempts as they ran away with the victory to finish second in Group A with a 2-1 win-loss record.

Six Italians scored in double digits, with Jordan Clarkson’s Utah Jazz teammate Simone Fontecchio leading the way with 18 points and six boards.

Clarkson led all scorers with 23 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Dwight Ramos and RR Pogoy chipped in 14 and nine points, respectively, for Gilas.

Rhenz Abando had eight points, two rebounds, and a block against Italy’s Giampaolo Ricci in the third quarter.

”I’m very proud of the effort of our players. What a way to fight coming off those two painful losses and to still show up tonight and to give it their all against a top 10 team in the world,” Gilas coach Chot Reyes told reporters.

“I couldn’t ask for more. We just came up short, but you know, we continue to fight, and that’s all we can do.”

Prior losses for the Philippines (0-3) came against Angola (1-2) and the Dominican Republic (3-0), which also marched to the second round.

The Philippines will now move on to the classification stage, which begins on Thursday, where the lone Asian berth for the 2024 Paris Olympics is up for grabs.

Before the match, the challenge for Gilas was to beat Italy by at least 13 points and for Angola to lose to the Dominican Republic in order to advance to the next round.

Only the second scenario occurred, as Italy even built an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter, 78-60, before Gilas was able to reduce the deficit to seven points, 88-81, with 1:43 left.