GILAS Pilipinas goes for a berth in the FIBA Asia Cup tournament proper as it eyes a sweep of the second window qualifiers against Hong Kong on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Filipinos go to the 7:30 p.m. encounter on a high following a 93-89 conquest of world no. 22 New Zealand last Thursday behind the near triple double of young big man Kai Sotto.
A win by the home team will formally clinch its entry into the FIBA Asia Cup tournament next year slated in Saudi Arabia.
Following the gutsy win over the Tall Blacks, Gilas secured the solo top spot in Group B with a 3-0 record, while relegating New Zealand at no. 2 with a 2-1 slate.
Hong Kong meanwhile, is at the bottom of the bracket with a 0-3 standings after absorbing an 85-55 loss to Chinese Taipei.
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Still, national coach Tim Cone is not looking past the visiting team.
"We won't take anything for granted when we play Hong Kong," said the Gilas mentor. "Our approach won't change whether playing a team ranked above us or below us."
Naturalized player Justine Brownlee and Sotto are again expected to be at the forefront of Gilas' campaign after leading the Filipinos' charge against the Tall Blacks.
The 36-year-old Brownlee finished with a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds, while the 7-foot-3 Sotto had a near triple double of 19 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.
The two along with Scottie Thompson engineered the huge 16-0 third quarter run by Gilas to turn around a game dominated earlier by New Zealand.
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The game against Hong Kong, according to Cone, is also a chance for Gilas to further improve its chemistry and cohesion.
"We don't have a chance to get together very often, so every window and game is a chance for us to keep growing and developing," he said.(RG)
