FIBA World Cup 2019: Serbia vs Philippines - Match Preview & Predictions

Match details

Fixture: Philippines vs Serbia

Date & Time: Monday, September 2nd - 7:30 AM (ET)/7:30 PM (PHT)

Venue: Foshan International Sports & Cultural Arena, Foshan

Last game result

Philippines: 62-108 defeat to Italy (August 31st)

Serbia: 105-59 win over Angola (August 31st)

Match overview

Gilas Pilipinas are coming from a pretty bad beating as they lost to Italy by a whopping 46 points. While the Italians were red-hot from beyond the arc, shooting 15 of their 31 3-point attempts, the Pinoy Gunners were firing blanks, making only 3 of 23 attempts from downtown.

Shooting wasn't the only problem for the Philippines, however. They also committed bad turnovers at the beginning of the game, giving the Italians an early momentum that dictated the pace of the rest of the game. The Filipinos also underestimated Italy's length and quickness as they struggled to move the ball with the Italians being able to switch and defend multiple positions.

This led to some Filipino cagers ending up playing hero ball- isolating and putting up bad shots. At the end of the game, Gilas Pilipinas only recorded a total of 10 assists as compared to their 23 turnovers.

Serbia, on the other hand, proved that they are the clear basketball powerhouse in the competition as they dominated Angola 105-59 in their previous game. They shot 66% from two-point range while shooting 65% from downtown. The Serbians played beautiful basketball, recording 33 assists while only turning the ball over 16 times.

As expected, Serbia's team chemistry, ability to switch to multiple positions, and sharp-shooting will continue to be a problem not only for the rest of Group D but also through the latter stages of the World Cup.

Key players

Philippines - CJ Perez

CJ Perez was one of the bright spots in the Gilas Pilipinas' loss against Italy. He scored 15 points on 7 of 12 shooting to go with 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal in just 17 minutes of action. Despite a good outing for a rookie, he and Bolick seemed the most dejected in their tough loss against Italy. He should look to play consistent and gritty basketball against Serbia with veteran June Mar Fajardo nursing a mild sprained ankle and Andray Blatche looking out of shape for the competition.

Serbia - Bogdan Bogdanović

Bogdanovic scored 24 points on 8 of 10 shooting to go with 2 rebounds and 3 assists in only 20 minutes of outing in Serbia's previous game. His shooting should continue to be a threat in the game and he should try to look for the extra pass as his gravity could lead to open looks for his teammates.

Predicted starting lineups

Philippines: Paul Lee Dalistan, CJ Perez, Gabe Norwood, Japeth Aguilar, Andray Blatche

Serbia: Stefan Jović, Bogdan Bogdanović, Marko Simonović, Stefan Birčević, Boban Marjanović

Match prediction

Following a disheartening loss to Italy, Philippines should look to redeem themselves and play with a little more heart against Serbia. Center Blatche might realize he should hold onto the ball a little less and look for other teammates for a cut or an open shot from downtown. We should see the Filipinos moving the ball better and trusting their teammates more.

However, expect that this won't be enough to topple Serbia over as the No. 4 basketball nation would continue to play their beautiful brand of basketball with their length, quickness, sharp-shooting, and great ball movement.

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