MANILA -- Putting together a complete game will be crucial for Gilas Pilipinas when they play Italy at the Araneta Coliseum on Tuesday night.

This, according to Philippines coach Chot Reyes ahead of their third assignment in Group A of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 -- a must-win affair for the Filipinos whose backs are against the wall after dropping their first two matches.

"We have to find a way to play 40 minutes of good basketball," Reyes said during Gilas practice on Monday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

"In the first game [against Dominican Republic], we played 36 minutes, while in the second game [against Angola], we played 24 minutes. So maybe if we can put together 40 minutes…hindi natin nabubuo e," the coach noted.

• Can Gilas Pilipinas beat Italy?
• 'Tough, but doable': Gilas' Japeth Aguilar on winning vs Italy

Against the Dominican Republic last Friday at the Philippine Arena, Gilas built a 3-point lead halfway into the fourth quarter -- only to give up back-to-back three-pointers and wind up absorbing an 87-81 defeat.

Two days later at the Araneta Coliseum, they roared to an 11-point advantage over Angola but could not maintain their momentum. Angola stifled the Filipinos in the second half en route to an 80-70 triumph.

"Hopefully, we can put it together, that’s No. 1," said Reyes, as they shifted their focus to Italy -- a team ranked 10th in the world by FIBA. "Our goal since last night is to get the players’ minds off all the pressure and expectation. Ang bigat kasi pareho e."

"We just want them to enjoy, remind them to just play their game. At this point, they really have to find their game talaga," he added.

Tip off is at 8:00 p.m.

Reyes underscored the importance of controlling the glass against Italy, after they gave up 20 offensive rebounds to Bruno Fernando and Angola. Their failure to complete defensive stops hurt more than their shooting woes, said Reyes, as the national team shot just 4-of-22 from long distance.

Both Gilas and Italy are hoping for the Dominican Republic to beat Angola in their game at 4:00 p.m., while the Philippines needs to beat Italy by at least 13 points in order to qualify to the second round of the World Cup.

• FIBA: Can Gilas still make it to the 2nd round of World Cup?

For more stories on the FIBA World Cup, click here.

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