Gilas Pilipinas Loses OT Thriller to Angola at 2019 FIBA World Cup

Angola beat the Philippines 84-81 in overtime in a thrilling Group D encounter at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup on Wednesday at the Foshan International Sports and Cultural Center in Foshan, China.

The two sides were tied 73-73 at the end of the fourth quarter following a spirited fightback by the Philippines.

But it was Angola who had the better of overtime. Their lead was cut to just two by a Roger Pogoy three-pointer with 25 seconds to go, but Carlos Morais' late free throw helped Angola see out the victory.

After both Gilas Pilipinas and Angola had lost their opening group games to Serbia and Italy, Wednesday's clash was effectively for position in the 17th–32nd classification stage.

The first quarter was incredibly tight, finishing 21-20 in Angola's favour, but by the end of the third quarter, the Philippines were trailing 56-46:

When Angola stretched the lead to 12 points early in the fourth quarter, they looked to have all but secured victory.

However, consecutive threes from Andray Blatche and CJ Perez cut the lead to one with five minutes to go, and a Pogoy triple then put the Philippines 67-65 ahead.

Morais clawed Angola back ahead before Perez tied the game, only to miss an attempted three that could have won it for the Philippines.

In overtime, despite having lost a convincing lead, Angola held their nerve, regaining the advantage after going 76-73 behind and not relinquishing it again.

Blatche—a nine-year NBA vet—finished as the star performer with 23 points, 12 rebounds and four steals, but it was not enough to prevent a winless group stage for the Philippines.