Gilas braces for vengeance-seeking Chinese

Games today:

(Aichi International Arena)

9 a.m. — Bahrain vs Kazakhstan

12 p.m. — China vs Philippines

Gilas Pilipinas has an inside track to one of the two quarterfinal berths reserved for the top two third-placed teams in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games men’s basketball competition.

But the reigning champion Philippines is not taking any chances, especially if it can still move up to No. 2 when it battles revenge-seeking powerhouse China to close the group stage today at the Aichi International Arena.

The rematch of the Hangzhou edition semifinal three years ago is set at 12 p.m. (Manila time).

Thanks to Gilas’ 31-point dismantling of Kazakhstan, 109-78, on Saturday, the Tim Cone-mentored squad moved up as the current best third-place team with a +27 point differential.

Gilas sports a 1-1 win-loss record in Group C, tied with Bahrain. However, the Bahrainis occupy second behind the unbeaten Chinese (2-0) after beating Gilas, 89-85, in the group play opener last Friday.

A win by Gilas will propel them to at least the No. 2 spot in Group C, even if Bahrain beats winless Kazakhstan in their 9 a.m. pairing, as the Bahrainis got pummeled by China by 46 points last Saturday.

However, taking down the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup runner-up China is a tall order.

The Chinese have blown out their first two opponents by 39.5 points, and they are sure holding a grudge against the Filipinos after the humiliation on their home turf in the pandemic-delayed 2022 Asiad.

China was up by as many as 20 and looked poised to run over Gilas in the semis, but naturalized player Justin Brownlee’s heroics rallied the Philippines to a come-from-behind escape and eventually ended a 61-year gold medal drought.

But Cone is fielding a different Gilas composition this time, with only Calvin Oftana returning from the previous team, and without Brownlee.

Gilas will try to carry the momentum it built on its first win behind the 22-point explosion of Jerrick Ahanmisi and Robert Bolick’s 20 points to score an upset.

The squad will need to rely on their speed, quickness and outside shooting, just like its 16-of-29 treys against the Kazakhs, to give itself a fighting chance over the towering Chinese.

China is parading holdovers 7-foot-3 Yu Jiahao, 6-foot-11 Hu Jinqui and 6-foot-10 Jiao Boquiao, a trio that has been crashing the boards and lording it over underneath.

Gilas’ Justine Baltazar, Justin Arana, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Brandon Bates will surely have their hands full.

Even with a loss, however, Gilas is sure to still advance to the next round as long as Saudi Arabia, which holds a -22 point differential in the third-place rankings, won’t win by at least 40 over Indonesia in their match as of press time.

South Korea, host Japan and Iran are already through to the next round.