Gilas 20th in W Cup list, yields to Angola

MANILA, Philippines - Lithuania, Spain and the United States were on top while Gilas Pilipinas was down at No. 20 in the Power Ladder released by the FIBA nine days before the start of the 2014 FIBA World Cup in six cities in Spain.

Among Group B teams, the Philippines was at No. 4 ahead of Croatia and Senegal based on results of matches played by the teams in the run-up to the World Cup starting May 29.

The Filipinos were at No. 20 with a 5-6 win-loss record, counting their second-place showing in the FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan, China and their five-game losing slump in Antibes, France and in San Sebastian, Spain.

Puerto Rico paced Group B teams with a 5-3 slate, followed by Greece (4-3) and Argentina (3-3). Croatia had a losing 1-3 mark and so did Senegal (0-1).

Not counted are scrimmages like those played by Gilas Pilipinas in Miami and in Vitoria.

Lithuania (10-0), Spain (6-0) and the US (2-0) sport perfect slates. Right behind them are Dominican Republic (6-2), Serbia (5-2), Mexico (6-3), Slovenia (4-2) and New Zealand (7-4).

Gilas’ slump stretched to five games following a 74-83 loss to Angola in San Sebastian Thursday night (early Friday morning in Manila).

Andray Blatche dished out his most productive game in a Gilas jersey, coming through 33 points and 17 rebounds which proved not enough to get the Filipinos past the Angolas.

Olimpio Cipriano scattered 29 points and naturalized player Reggie Moore added 14 as the Angolans, the leading African team ranked No. 15 in the world, stamped their class on the Filipinos.

The Angolans, winners of 11 of the last 13 FIBA Afro championships, cut loose from a tight game in the second quarter and held on to win the game.

Entering the final half with a 43-34 lead, the Angolans sustained their push and increased the bubble to 64-50 at the end of the third.

Coach Paulo Jorge De Macedo and his troops weathered a mild uprising by Gilas Pilipinas in the fourth quarter and went on to hand the Filipinos yet another loss in the stretch run of their buildup for the World Cup.

Jayson Castro, which went down with an ankle sprain versus Euskadi-Basque Wednesday, was back in action, playing 15 minutes where he made two points.

Outside of Blatche, no other Gilas player scored in double figures.          

The scores:

Angola 83 – Cipriano 29, Moore 14, Moreira 9, Fortes 7, Joaquim 6, Gomes 5, Mingas 5, Costa 4, Ndoniema 2, Santos 2, Manuel 0, Barros 0.

Gilas Pilipinas 74 – Blatche 33, De Ocampo 9, Norwood 7, Alapag 6, Chan 6, Tenorio 4, Aguilar 4, Fajardo 3, Castro 2, David 0, Belga 0, Dillinger 0, Pingris 0.

Quarterscores: 17-17, 43-34, 64-50, 83-74