Gilas Pilipinas eyes sweep of Guam in second FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers clash

Riding high from a win, Gilas Pilipinas returns to action determined to impose its will anew and sweep Guam in their rematch in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Monday night at the Blue Eagle Gym.

The Filipinos shook off a slow start before pulling away for good in the second half during their first encounter last Friday, when lower-ranked Guam hosted them at the Calvo Fieldhouse.

Now playing on home soil, Gilas may have the edge, but the team isn’t taking this Guam squad lightly.

Gilas head coach Tim Cone stressed that they have all the respect for Guam despite the disparity in their world rankings, with the Philippines at No. 37 and Guam at No. 81, saying they entered the first game fully aware of the damage the hosts were capable of dealing.

"We have tremendous respect for the Guam team and they have been able to accomplish in terms of winning the qualifiers to the Asia Cup," Cone said on the heels of an 87-46 shutdown of Guam last Friday.

"We came in with a lot of trepidation but we did know that they lost three players from the Asia Cup. So we knew they’re a little bit shorthanded."

They now hope to replicate that victory, this time with the support of the home crowd behind them.

All eyes will still be on Justin Brownlee, who exploded for 22 points in that game to power the 41-point rout, while Dwight Ramos chipped in 10 markers. 

The frontcourt duo of veteran June Mar Fajardo and Gilas rookie Quentin Millora-Brown combined for 20 rebounds, leading the team’s 61-rebound effort — a new Asian Qualifiers record and tied for the second-most in World Cup Qualifiers history.

"That’s the big thing about home-and-away, you’ve gotta follow it up and if you look at the score, we’re gonna look at ourselves and have that opportunity to relax and not really come out the second time around," Cone added.

"But hopefully, we’re gonna have the home crowd that will get us pumped up. We love our basketball, everybody knows and we’re gonna have a big sellout whenever Gilas plays."

"We don’t play at home very often so we knew everybody’s excited to watch it."

For Guam, PBA star Jericho Cruz is expected to keep leading the charge after scoring 17 points in the previous game, while Gilas is expected to focus its defense on the San Miguel guard.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News