MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas technically still has a chance to make it to the second round after the Dominican Republic quelled a gallant comeback effort by Angola to win, 75-67, in the final day of the FIBA World Cup Group A action Tuesday afternoon at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Dominicans thus swept Group A play with a 3-0 win-loss slate, while Angola is at 1-2.
If Gilas (0-2) defeats Italy (1-1) later tonight by at least 13 points, the Philippines goes through to the second round of the competition along with the Dominican Republic.
With the game tied at 65-all following a Silvio de Sousa windmill dunk with 2:52 remaining, the Dominican Republic ended the game with a 10-2 run to finish the game.
Down by one heading into the fourth quarter, 49-50, the Dominican Republic started the final canto with an 9-3 run to take a 58-53 lead after a putback by Andres Feliz with 7:24 remaining.
A pair of layups by Victor Liz and Feliz, along with free throws by Karl-Anthony Towns, gave the Dominican Republic a much-needed separation with less than a minute remaining, 71-65.
Gerson Goncalves squandered an attempt to cut the lead to three after missing a wide-open wing 3- pointer with 41 seconds remaining.
The Dominican Republic led by as much as 15 points, 28-13, in the second quarter after a layup by Feliz. This despite Towns failing to attempt a field goal in limited minutes due to andre trouble.
Angola, however, cut the deficit to five, 35-30, in the same quarter after Gerson Goncalves split his free throws.
A Childe Dundao off-balance trey brought Angola back to the driver's seat, 46-45, with 2:46 remaining in the third quarter.
Feliz led the Dominicans with 17 points while Towns finished with just eight.
De Sousa, meanwhile, top-scored for Angola with 19 points.
The top two teams of each group will qualify for the second round of the World Cup.
The bottom two teams, meanwhile, will play in the classification round for the 17 through 32 places.