FIBA: Dominican Republic defeats Angola and keeps the Gilas in contention

At the Araneta Coliseum on Tuesday, the Dominican Republic persevered to defeat Angola 75-67, sweeping Group A of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. The Dominicans resisted giving in to the defensive pressure from the Angolans even though they were without Karl-Anthony Towns for the majority of the game due to foul trouble.

The Dominicans outscored the Angolans 20-11 in the first quarter thanks to Lester Quinones and Victor Liz. Angola stepped up on defence to trim the margin to 37-32 heading into the second half after Angel Delgado’s three-point play increased the Dominican Republic’s lead to 26-13.

After committing his fourth personal foul, Towns was compelled to take a seat early in the third. The Dominicans found it more and more difficult to maintain their lead over the Angolans as a result. Angola now leads by 46-45 thanks to Childe Dundao’s three-pointer with 2:46 left in the frame.

In the final period, Towns returned to the court and assisted in starting a 10-3 run that gave the Dominicans a 58-53 lead. Despite losing its star player, Bruno Fernando, midway through the period, Angola was still able to tie the score at 65 after Silvio de Souza’s slam.

But the Dominicans pulled ahead thanks to a jump shot by Victor Liz and a layup by Andres Feliz. Towns later made two free throws to give them their third victory in a row.

The victory improved the Philippine national team’s hopes of progressing to the competition’s second round. To offset Italy’s +14 point advantage, Gilas Pilipinas will also need to defeat the No. 10 team in the world by at least 13 points.