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The co-hosts of the 19th FIBA World Cup the Philippines lost their first 2 games and yet they can still reach the next phase if they beat Italy by a margin in their last match. The Italians come into the game with a win and a defeat. Gilas Pilipinas played well against the Dominican Republic but then disappointed vs Angola. Which face will they show now?
- Date & Time: Tuesday, August 27, 2023, 01:00 p.m. GMT
- Venue: Philippine Arena – Bocaue, Philippines
Philippines vs Italy basketball predictions
Contents
With both teams playing very fast run-and-gun basketball the excitement is guaranteed. Here are our Philippines vs Italy basketball predictions.
Prediction 1: Philippines under 76.5 total points @ 4/5 (1.80)
Gilas Pilipinas scored only 70 points against a pretty average Angola team. They shot horrible 18.2% from distance – 4 out of 22. Never settled into the match and showed nerves in front of their fanatic supporters. Now with the pressure even greater, we don’t feel like the Philippines are ready to handle it. After all, they lost their first 2 games and also all of their matches during the last World Cup in 2019.
Italy on the other hand know how to defend and they allowed Angola just 67 points when the sides met.
Prediction 2: Jordan Clarkson under 6.5 assists @ 3/4 (1.75)
Our second Philippines vs Angola prediction looks at the big star of the Philippines Jordan Clarkson. The Utah Jazz player had 7 assists in each of the first 2 matches. He is the main ball handler. However, in his last 5 games prior to the World Cup, he averaged only 3.8 assists per game for his nation. This is roughly his average for the Utah Jazz too during the last regular season.
Now, with only win helpful we expect Clarkson to keep the ball more and increase his shot attempts instead of looking for teammates. That’s why we don’t think on this occasion he will have more than 6 assists.
Philippines vs Italy preview – Can the fans make the difference?
Now let’s look at the latest Philippines vs Italy team news.
Philippines news, injuries, and starting lineups
The 40th FIBA-ranked Gilas Pilipinas lost 81-87 vs the Dominican Republic in their first game but the game was close all throughout with 11 lead changes. Having in their ranks the Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson is huge for the Philippines and he was literally finishing every attack in the 4th quarter of that first match.
Gilas Pilipinas were much poorer in their second game when a nervy showing and awful shooting from deep (just 18.2%) led to a painful 70-80 loss. Clarkson was the only player in double digits in this match, he had 21 points despite 1 of 8 shooting from beyond the arc.
Despite the two defeats, the Philippines are somehow still in contention and if they can secure a big win from the coming match they could still qualify as second in their group.
Philippines injury report:
- No injuries to report ahead of the game and everyone in the 12-man roster seems to be in good health.
Philippines starting lineup:
J. Fajardo, D. Ramos, J. Aguilar, J. Clarkson & A. Edu
Italy news, injuries, and starting lineups
The Italians started well and were confident 81-67 winners vs Angola. They let themselves down in their second match though and lost 82-87 vs the Dominican Republic after failing to slow down Karl-Anthony Towns and also shooting only 24.1% from distance (7 out of 29).
Fontecchio was Italy’s highest-scoring player in both those matches but the Nerazurri like to distribute the load and they are yet to have a single player to score 20 or more points.
Italy injury report:
- No injuries to report ahead of the game and everyone in the 12-man roster seems to be in good health.
Italy starting lineup:
N. Melli, A. Polonara, S. Fontecchio, S. Tonut, M. Spissu
Philippines vs Italy where to watch on TV/live stream
If you live in the UK, you can watch all FIBA World Cup matches via FIBA’s streaming service Courtside 1891. Meanwhile, in the USA, the World Cup will be shown on ESPN2 and ESPN+. Philippines fans can watch their team also on Cignal Smart TV channel.
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