Watch Philippines vs Australia live streaming online. With the second window for 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on tap, the Gilas Pilipinas face the Australia Boomers at the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne, Australia.
Thursday, February 22 marks a very special day in the Gilas program as its crew of battle-tested players tangle with the Australians in Melbourne hoping to continue its streak and cement its legacy and its drive alive.
The Philippines’s Gilas Pilipinas reached the Asian Qualifiers round after seventh in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup, which took place from 8 to 20 August 2017 in Lebanon, where Australia won their first title by defeating Iran 79–56 while South Korea finished third after beating New Zealand 80–71.
Team Gilas Pilipinas is coming off a stunning 77-71 upset of the Japanese in their home court while the Boomers manhandled Chinese Taipei in the first qualifying window match. While the Gilas Pilipinas team are clearly the underdogs in the match, stranger things have happened and can happen when two basketball crazy nations collide.
Leading the charge for Gilas is renowned bench tactician Chot Reyes who has tapped a crew of proven performers to spearhead the drive against the Aussies in their home court. Leading the front line are versatile big men Junemar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar and naturalized player Andray Blatche. Providing immediate help to the behemoths are the versatile swingmen led by Gabe Norwood, Allein Maliksi, Matthew Wright, Roger Pogoy, Carl Bryan Cruz and the come-backing Calvin Abueva. The backcourt would be headed by spitfire Jayson Castro-William, Kevin Alas, Jio Jalalon and Kiefer Ravena. A surprise addition to the pool is Abu Tratter, a DLSU big who could spell minutes in the frontcourt should anything drastic happen to the regulars. Of the fourteen, only twelve would be given the chance to bang heads with the Aussies.
Reyes has been taking a rather proactive approach to the battle, stacking the team with speedy guards and outside snipers to try to combat the tall, 10th ranked Australians. With his personnel, it seems he is intent on running from start to finish.
Meanwhile, the Australians are heading into battle with a host of tall, rangy sniping veterans and some bull-strong forwards to keep things interesting. All the members of the Australian team are veterans of the National Basketball League which says how strong the competition would be. The Boomers would be led by head coach Andrej Limanes to battle against the confident Gilas team.
Versatile Daniel Kickert, all 6-10, 20 pounds of him, will join forces with Angus John Brandt and Matthew John Hodgson to form a highly formidable frontcourt. Jesse Wagstaff, Mitchell Creek and Colin Kay round out the front court selection for the Australian team. The backcourt would be handled by Jason Cadee, Adam Sobey, Cameron Gliddon, Robert Norton, Mitchell McCarron and Kevin Lisch. Notably absent for the Aussies are NBA veterans Andrew Bogut (formerly of GSW, Dallas, Milwaukee), Utah’s Dante Exum (out with an injury) and Joe Ingles, Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons (currently dominating for the 76ers), Milwaukee’s Matthew Dellavedova, Boston’s Aron Baynes and the Spurs’ Patty Mills.
Gilas Pilipinas and Australia face off at 4:00 p.m. live on TV5. The event will also be live streamed online at Sports5.
Philippines vs Australia Live Stream – 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers
When: Thursday, February 22, 2018
Where: Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne, Australia
Start Time: 4:38 p.m. GMT+8 (Philippine Standard Time)
TV: TV5, Aksyon TV or on www.sports5.ph/live
Live Stream: LiveBasketball.TV, www.sports5.ph/live
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