China beat Angola, but Paris 2024 looks out of reach

Team China's New York-born forward Li Kaier, or known as Kyle Anderson in the United States, said the first win helped release a lot of pressure.

"It takes a lot off our shoulders and now we could just focus on playing our game and play a little bit loose and go out there and compete our hardest," said Anderson, who represents China as a naturalized citizen through his mother's family heritage in South China's Guangdong province.

"They're going to have the crowd on their side," Anderson said of the home-court advantage that the Philippines will lean on in the final game.

"I don't think their record shows how good a team they are. They are still a good team and they play with energy. So we're gonna have to bring our best."

With size in three towering centers as its advantage, Team China is expected to lean on its strength in the paint facing the Philippines, making plays with ball in Anderson's hands while keeping the opponent's naturalized scorer Jordan Clarkson at bay to prevail on Saturday.

Clarkson, however, said the Philippines have been braced for China's game plan.

"We are very familiar with that team. Kyle Anderson joined in as well. The have big guys. We know this team is good, they've been put together well with size and everything. We are ready to compete and fight," said Clarkson, a Utah Jazz's forward who represents the Gilas Pilipinas through his mother's family roots.

Team China head coach Aleksandar Djordjevic puts faith in the resilience of his team facing whatever challenges after bouncing back strong from the consecutive losses.

"We had some tough opponents on this road here. And our group was very tough. We just have to continue believing in ourselves. I would love everybody to release the dragon that they have inside. That is needed absolutely," said the former Serbian national guard and coach.