Gilas Pilipinas eyes at least two wins in FIBA World Cup

Winning at least two games in the 2023 FIBA World Cup will be the modest goal of Gilas Pilipinas as it eyes to surpass its previous outings in the quadrennial event and emerge as the best ranked Asian team in the tourney.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Al Panlilio bared the squad's objective on Tuesday as they look to eclipse the one-win campaign during the 2014 World Cup and a winless run in the 2019 edition.

The Philippines won against Senegal in Spain to wrap up the 2014 contest at the 21st slot before going blank in China to finish last among 32 national teams.

Panlilio added that copping two wins could also punch Gilas' ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"First of all, we haven’t hosted the World Cup ever since 1978. It’s even much longer since we’ve been in the Olympics. It’s been a while and I think the aspirations for us is we wanna be the best Asian team," Panlilio said during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday.

"I hope we can win at least two games so we can have our best World Cup."

Doing that, however, is easier said than done as Gilas will be pitted against several powerhouse teams early in the tournament. The Filipinos are bunched with world no. 10 Italy as well as no. 23 Dominican Republic and no. 41 Angola in the preliminary phase.

Gilas will need to finish second in the group stage to move forward to the second round.

Although it's a tall task to do, Panlilio is upbeat that the Gilas can rise to the occasion, especially since the games will be played in front of the home crowd.

"We won one game in 2014 against Senegal but unfortunately, we didn’t win anything in Beijing. So if we can do that, we’ll go to the next round and potentially, book a spot for the Olympics," he added.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News