The Philippines absorbed a heartbreaking 84-81overtime loss to Angola on Wednesday at the Foshan International Sports and Cultural Center in China.
Despite Andray Blatche’s best game in the tournament (23 points, 12 rebounds, four steals) and another strong performance from PBA rookie CJ Perez (17 points, 7 rebounds), Angola outworked the Filipinos in overtime to win their last game in Group D.
The Philippines’ 3-point shooting failed to go out on a high note as Gilas made only 10 of 46 attempts from behind the arc. On a positive note, their transition offense netted 18 fastbreak points. They also grabbed 20 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second chance points. However their poor defense and execution at the end of the regulation period and extension denied coach Yeng Guiao and his boys a reason to celebrate during their World Cup campaign.
Gilas Pilipinas thus concluded the group round without a victory and will now travel to Beijing for the classification phase. Angola, for its part, finished with a 1-2 slate. The two teams will play Iran and the loser of the game between Puerto Rico and Tunisia in Group N.
