Gilas Pilipinas can still advance to the second round after being down 0-2 in the World Cup; Here’s how

Gilas Pilipinas final line up fiba world cup 2023

Gilas Pilipinas is on the verge of being eliminated from the World Cup after losing two close games against the Dominican Republic and Angola. It was very winnable and if only things went with the Philippines, they would have had a 2-0 advantage in the tournament now. Unfortunately, it’s the other way around. But, even though they’ve already lost their first two games, does Gilas Pilipinas still have a chance at advancing to the next round?

The Dominican Republic just defeated Angola, creating a huge opportunity for the Philippines

Karl-Anthony Towns and the Dominican Republic National team swept Group A and now clinches a spot for the next round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. However, that win was also very beneficial for Gilas Pilipinas.

Dominicana beat Angola, 75-67, sweeping group A, and created an opportunity for the Philippines to advance to the second round. Because of that, Angola ends their group stage run with a 1-2 record. But, that is not everything. Gilas Pilipinas (0-2) still needs to complete the process by defeating the No.10 Italy who currently has a record of 1-1. This scenario would then create a triple tie with the Philippines, Italy, and Angola. Unfortunately, only two countries per group will be allowed to advance to the next round. Despite that, Gilas Pilipinas still have a great chance of doing so. Here’s how

The Philippines must beat Italy to create a triple-tie in Group A

Gilas Pilipinas (No.41) must not only take down Italy, but they have to do so by beating them by at least 12 points. If you’re wondering why, let us explain this scenario. If Gilas do beat Italy, the triple tie would look like this:

Group A Record
Italy 1-2
Angola 1-2
Philippines 1-2

 

FIBA rules indicate that a tie will be broken in three ways:

1. Most wins (or win ratio in case of unequal number of games in inter-pool comparison);

2. Head-to-head confrontation or point differential

3. Most points scored on average (without considering winning scores of forfeits).

The first case would not allow the tie to be resolved given that each team holds a win and a loss in the group stage. This brings us to the second option, which is the point differential. The point differences can be found by taking how much a team wins versus how much they lose against their opponents. In this case, Angola (1-2) has a point differential of -4 (a 10-point win against Gilas Pilipinas minus a 14-point loss against Italy). Currently, Italy has a +14 advantage (a 14-point win over Angola) while the Philippines clocks in at -10 (a 10-point loss against Angola). If Gilas Pilipinas wins the game against Italy by 12 points, the results would be:

Group A Record Point Differential
Italy 1-2 14 – 12 = 2
Angola 1-2 10 – 14 = -4
Philippines 1-2 12 – 10 = 2

 

Again, this would result in another tie which brings us to the third tiebreaker – most points scored. Even with a 12-point win, Gilas Pilipinas will have the edge over Italy. But, the best way is to beat Italy by 13 points. That way, the point differential rule is in favor of the Philippines. As a result, Gilas will be the automatic 2nd placer in Group A. Gilas Pilipinas is en route to face Italy on August 29 at 8 PM (GMT+8).


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