This Philippine team is proving to be a tough out in the 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball in Spain. Croatia had to overcome a last second shot by Jeff Chan and escape via a 81-78 victory in overtime while 5th ranked Greece escaped by 12 points in the last game which was a single digit margin if not for a last second three.

Argentina is expected not to show complacency and under-estimate this Asian squad as they face off in Day 3 of the Group Stages of the Basketball World Cup. The Argentines are the second smallest team in Group B next to the Philippines and their fates hangs in the ability of their veterans to provide mixed in with the contributions of their youthful players.

Luis Scola has already been relegated to a bench role with his current NBA team, the Indiana Pacers but in international competition, he is still strutting his savvy and footwork to fool opponents with his hook shots and up and under finishes. It will be interesting if Filipino coach Chot Reyes gives much of the assignment to naturalized center Andray Blatche or to local frontcourt players such as Marc Pingris or Japeth Aguilar. After all, Blatche is heavily banged up and will need rest to clinch the two wins needed to advance. These are more likely to come when Gilas Pilipinas faces Puerto Rico and Senegal after this match-up.

Andres Nocioni will also prove to be handful and a thorn in the Philippine's side. The gutsy inside-out game of Nocioni coupled with his court awareness will keep the help defense of the Filipinos alert at all times. The Argentines admit that they have tempered expectations and that they will reach as far as where their young players take them. The brightest of the bunch is Facundo Campazzo, a 5-foot-11 slippery guard who resembles the game of Puerto Rico's J.J. Barea but with the control of Pablo Prigioni. Even Prigioni, another veteran leader of the squad admits the team's limitations.

"I don't think we have enough potential in the team to think in the top four," said Prigioni.

Even with the admission, the Philippines is still the underdog in this match. Expect them to run their dribble drive offense which has worked wonders in the Croatia game but has stagnated a little bit in the Greece match-up, much of that due to teams no longer under estimating this small but gutsy squad. After all, these smaller players also had a controversial near-fight with the Greeks post-game after the Filipinos took offense of a late three by their opponents and the Greeks not liking the unsportsmanlike shot to the jewels of their player, Papanikolau.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Argentina (1-1):

Pablo Prigioni (Guard)

Facundo Campazzo (Guard)

Walter Hermann (Forward)

Andres Nocioni(Forward)

Luis Scola (Center)

Philippines (0-2):

Lewis Tenorio (Guard)

Jeffrei Chan (Guard)

Gabe Norwood (Forward)

Japeth Aguilar (Forward)

Andray Blatche (Center)

You can watch the live streaming match of Philippines and Argentina via ESPN.