Gilas Pilipinas is in Group A with familiar faces.
Basketball fans, pundits, and even some of the most respected coaches acknowledge that Gilas Pilipinas is one of the winners of the FIBA World Cup draw. At the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, the random draw decreed that Gilas will be taking on Angola, Dominican Republic, and Italy in Group A.
The Philippines have previously experienced losses at the hands of all these three teams, but now, the Filipino hoopers have the homecourt advantage.
To ensure a slot on the next round, Gilas needs to win at least two games, and Twitter user @AgentRalph0420 went ahead and declared the teams that Gilas can beat.
@JRed1994 is asking for his fellow Filipinos’ all-out support, knowing full well how difficult the challenge is, especially if these teams send out their best talents.
A key feature of the FIBA World Cup is that it also serves as a qualifying tournament for the Olympics. And if Chot Reyes and his boys end up as the Asian squad with the best finish in this tourney, they would book that ticket to Paris. @vinwashere likes the host country’s chances for this to happen.
This Dominican Republic supporter, on the other hand, is fine with Group A, perhaps channeling Ja Morant.
From Angola, Luis Waleca is counting on his nationals to make history.
From Italy's side of things, @kaizenismo pointed out that it's almost the same group from the 2019 edition of the FIBA World Cup, where Italy, Angola, and the Philippines also faced each other in the group phase, except that they were grouped with Serbia instead of Dominican Republic.
Four years ago, Serbia and Italy advanced to the next round, and this user hopes the Italians will replicate that feat.