ALLAN THE MAN

Watch the highlights of the Group C encounter between USA and New Zealand.

The Philippine national men’s basketball team showed its big fighting heart again but couldn’t finish with the victory at the end as JJ Barea lifted Puerto Rico to a 77-73 victory in the FIBA Basketball World Cup Wednesday in Seville, Spain.

Barea scored a layup with 51.8 seconds left to give Puerto Rico a 72-70 lead, then hit free throws in the endgame to seal the win and come back form a 14-point deficit early in the game.

Watch Andray Blatche two-handed slam vs Puerto Rico - 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

It's a fight for survival as the Philippines goes up against Puerto Rico tonight at 7:30 PM. The Puerto Ricans carry a similar 0-3 record like that of Gilas.

The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup is the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. Hosted by Spain, it is the last time the tournament is held on the current four-year cycle.

SEPTEMBER 4, 2014 Thursday, MANILA TIME:

7:30 pm - Angola vs Australia

8:00 pm - Gilas Pilipinas (Philippines) vs Senegal

9:00 pm - New Zealnd vs Finland

9:30 pm - Egypt vs Brazil

11:30 pm - South Korea vs Mexico ; USA vs Ukraine

12:00 mn - Iran vs France ; Croatia vs Puerto Rico

3:30 am - Lithuania vs Slovenia ; Turkey vs Dominican republic

4:00 am - Spain vs Serbia ; Argentina vs Greece

Gilas Pilipinas, Philippine national men’s basketball team center June Mar Fajardo is the second most efficient player in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, according to RealGM.com, a website which provides advanced statistics to NBA teams.

Fajardo got a total of 44.92 Player Efficiency Rating (PER), just behind Spain’s Pau Gasol who had 48.66. The reigning PBA Most Valuable Player also ranked ahead of Slovenia’s Zoran Dragic (44.82), Team USA’s Anthony Davis (41.46) and Spain’s Serge Ibaka (41.41).

Even with its current winless record, Gilas Pilipinas can still make it into the 2014 FIBA World Cup Round of 16.

[ WATCH GILAS PILIPINAS v PUERTO RICO FREE LIVE STREAMING HERE ]

The narrow road compressed further when the team lost a close game against Argentina the other day. However, Gilas is not totally out of the woods yet.