Philippines will take on India in Manila on July 3.
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In a Group A encounter against the hosts Philippines on Sunday, the Indian men’s basketball team will try to earn its first victory in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers campaign. The 12 teams from Asia and Oceania that advance to the second round of qualifying will be determined by this third and final window. However, because the fourth country, South Korea, was eliminated due to a COVID-19 outbreak in their camp, both India and the Philippines, along with New Zealand from Group A, have already confirmed their places in the second round.
The Filipinos need to bounce back quickly if they are to end the first round of the qualifiers with an equal 2-2 record after being destroyed by New Zealand by 46 points. In their initial matchup in February of last year, the Philippines defeated India by 24 points. However, it would be much more difficult to repeat that victory since Carl Tamayo’s ankle injury against New Zealand may force Gilas Pilipinas to play with just 10 players. Before suffering an ankle injury in the fourth quarter against the Kiwis, Tamayo had a game-high 16 points and 5 rebounds.
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The likely absence further weakens the already thin Philippines squad, which is already without the services of naturalized big man Angelo Kouame, who is out with a knee ailment. Typical Gilas Pilipinas suspects Kiefer Ravena, Dwight Ramos, RJ Abarrientos, and SJ Belangel were held to a combined 17 points against New Zealand. While the considerably higher-ranked Philippines, which is presently placed 34th, will present a challenge for the Indian men’s basketball team, which is currently rated 82 in the FIBA global rankings.
The exciting match will be held at Manila, Mall of Asia Arena on July 3rd at 19:00 GMT and 19:00 IST. The Audience from the US can stream on popular channels like ESPN, whereas Indians can log in to Fancode.com.
Philippines: Dwight Ramos, Thirdy Ravena, Carl Vincent, Ange Kouame, Shaun Chiu.
India: Prashant Singh, Pratap Singh, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Arvind Kumar, Pranav Prince.
