FOSHAN, China – Gilas Pilipinas’ chances of reaching the next round of the FIBA World Cup had been further dented after Italy clinched its second victory in as many games in Group D to advance. 

Coming off a 46-point win over the Philippines two days ago, Italy staged another blowout after demolishing Angola, 92-61, at the GBA International Sports and Cultural Center here on Monday, September 2. 

That means the Philippines (0-1) must pull off the improbable against Serbia (1-0), defeat Angola (0-2),  then hope that Italy stuns Serbia in order to avoid being relegated to the classification stage. 

Only the top two teams in each group will advance to the next round. 

NBA veteran Marco Belinelli paced Italy with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals, while 4 of his teammates breached double figures in the 31-point romp. 

Jeff Brooks had 11 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals, Daniel Hacket and Awudu Abass chalked up 11 points apiece, while Amedeo Tessitori added 10 points in just 11 minutes of action. 

Yanick Moreira finished with 15 points and 8 rebounds for Angola as Leonel Paulo and Carlos Morais put up 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Game time of the Philippines-Serbia duel is at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. – Rappler.com