Angola frustrates, outhustles Gilas

MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas squandered a double-digit lead as they collapsed against Angola, 80-70, in another heartbreaker in their FIBA World Cup bid Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

With the defeat, Gilas is the only winless team in group A at 0-2. 

Trailing 52-56 heading into the fourth and final quarter, Gilas looked listless as Angola carved their defense. 

A pair of Gerson Goncalves 3-pointers and an elbow jumper by Gerson Domingos pushed the lead to 11, 66-55, for Angola with 7:01 left in the game. 

Since then, Angola never looked back, especially with their swarming defense. 

The Philippines tried to come back after an and-one play was converted by AJ Edu and a pair of free throws by Kai Sotto, 73-68. A corner 3-pointer by Domingos with 47.5 seconds remaining was the dagger for Angola. 

Gilas is in a must-win mode now, as they try to salvage their FIBA World Cup hopes against Italy.

The two teams will be facing on Tuesday, 8 p.m., at the same venue. 

Dominican Republic leads group A with a 2-0 win-loss slate. 

Italy and Angola have identical records of 1-1.