Gilas to put loss vs NZ behind them, turn attention to knockout clash against Japan

Gilas Pilipinas will be quick to shake things off after absorbing a 92-75 defeat to New Zealand on Sunday to wrap up the group stage of the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In the loss, the Filipinos saw them getting dominated in the rebounding battle by the Tall Blacks, who grabbed 61 boards against the 28 of the Philippines. Although Gilas committed just one turnover in the match, it was still not enough as they also struggled on offense, converting just 37.3 percent from the field.

But Gilas head coach Chot Reyes stressed they have to forget about the loss quickly as they will face Japan in the playoff for quarterfinals berth on Tuesday.

"We lost the game in the first quarter. We were outrebounded by 33 rebounds and there's no way for us to win a ballgame getting outrebounded that way," Reyes said in the post-game press conference.

"But I told the players today at the dugout after the game, we still have a chance. One more against Japan to get to the Top 8 and now we have to forget about this ball game and just focus our energies and thoughts towards our next game."

The Filipinos will need to pull off a win against the Japanese, who finished second in Group C, in order to barge into the Top 8. A loss, however, will force the Philippines to miss the Top 8 for the first time since 2009.

"We said we have to forget this game because the next team we're playing plays a completely different type of ball game," he added.

"We told the players they have to get the rest because we'll need a lot of energy and all of our quickness to stay against Japan."

—JMB, GMA News