Smart Gilas takes on Argentina on Monday, September 1 in their second game in less than 24 hours.
The match is slated to start at 11:30 p.m. PHT.
The game will be broadcast on TV5 in the Philippines.
Live streaming will be available via Solar Sports in the Philippines and Watch ESPN in the United States and other areas. FIBA also has its own live stream provider, LiveBasketball.TV, which requires a subscription.
The tough FIBA schedule has every team playing five games in six days, and Gilas doesn’t get their day of rest until after this game.
Gilas has lost two close games, first in overtime to Croatia and then in regulation to Greece. The team hung with their higher ranked foes in each game, and could have won the game against Croatia but Jayson Castro missed a shot with just seconds left, which meant the game went into overtime.
Smart Gilas is in Group B along with Argentina, Croatia, Greece, Puerto Rico, and Senegal. It will play every team in the group once during pool play. The top four teams after that advance to the knockout rounds.
After this game, the Philippines will rest on Tuesday, then play Puerto Rico on Wednesday and Senegal on Thursday. Friday is designated a rest day before knockout play starts next Saturday, September 6. If Gilas doesn’t beat Argentina it will have to win its final two games to get into knockout play.
Argentina may be without NBA star Manu Ginobili but it still has Indiana Pacers forward Luis Scola and New York Knicks guard Pablo Prigioni. The team also boasts a number of South American and European stars, including Andres Nocioni of Real Madrid.
Argentina won its first game, beating Puerto Rico 98-75, but lost its second game, falling to Croatia 90-85. Scola poured in 30 points and had 9 rebounds in that game.
The main concern for the Philippines is Andray Blatche’s health, as he was noticeably in pain during times of the game against Greece. The team must also shoot better to have any chance of beating Argentina. Gilas shot just 35 percent overall and only 27 percent from 3-point range against Greece.
Bill Bayno, an assistant coach with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and with the Dominican Republic national team, has said that Gilas can win. “Gilas can beat Argentina, that’s what coach Bill told me,” former San Beda and Ginebra San Miguel star Mike Advani told the Inquirer.
Bayno says Argentina isn’t the powerhouse it used to be. “They’re without some key players (like the Spurs’ Manu Ginobili),” said Advani.
The box score for Gilas against Greece.
Although Greece beat Gilas, the team wouldn’t give up until the very end.
Gilas coach Chot Reyes said he was contemplating resting some of his key players such as Blatche but they wanted to try to defeat Greece until the final whistle.
“I kept on asking my players, looked them in their eyes during the last five, four minutes when we’re down by 12 to 13 points but they said, ‘last push’ including Andray,” Reyes told reporters after the game, per the Philippine Star.
The team did cut a 17-point lead to single digits, but by then less then a minute was left.
Reyes said his team put forth a great effort, despite the loss.
“If you told me before the start of the tournament that we would be able to stick with the No. 5 in the world in the Greek squad, I would’ve been very happy with that,” Reyes said.
“I’m crushed by the loss but I’m still very happy with the effort of my players.”
