 |
| Gilas suffered a fall in the latest FIBA rankings. FIBA (file photo) |
MANILA--After what some fans perceived as a so-so performance in the recent FIBA Asia Cup, Gilas Pilipinas dropped three spots in the latest world rankings.
As unveiled on Thursday night, Gilas fell to 37th place in the latest FIBA rankings, reflecting the struggles the Tim Cone-coached squad had during the tournament.
Gilas went 2-3 in the FIBA Asia Cup, but they had to grind it out to beat Iraq and Saudi Arabia, two teams that past Philippine team iterations could easily pummel before.
Although it had its chances against New Zealand, Gilas suffered yet another painful defeat to Chinese Taipei, this time on neutral ground, before a blowout quarterfinal loss to Australia ended the Philippine team's FIBA Asia Cup dreams.
Three countries that were below Gilas in the world rankings before the start of the continental events overtook the Philippine squad following solid Eurobasket campaigns, namely Israel (now 32nd in the world), Bosnia (33rd), and Belgium (35th).
Team USA, despite settling for the bronze medal in the FIBA AmeriCup, remained number one in the world rankings, while reigning FIBA World Cup champion Germany, right after ruling the Eurobasket, jumped to number two, sending Serbia, which was knocked out in the Round of 16, down to third.
Australia, which stayed as the FIBA Asia Cup champion, even moved up the world rankings to sixth place, overtaking Spain, which fell two spots to seventh after a shock early Eurobasket exit.
