SEVILLE, Spain: There is no one team in the Fiba World Cup here that has driven the coach of a powerhouse team nuts.

“They made us look like fools,” Argentina coach Julio Lamas told reporters after the globe’s third-ranked team barely scraped past Gilas Pilipinas, 85-81 Monday night that kept the Filipinos winless in Group B play at the Centro Deportivo San Pablo here.

“Gilas plays a strange kind of game and they play it with so much passion and intensity,” added Lamas, who has been in the Argentine cage program for the last 16 years. “I have much respect for them.”

Argentina dodged the upset when Andreas Nocioni canned three free throws inside the final 42.9 seconds before Jason Castro had a crucial miscue in the Filipinos’ potential game-winning possession.

Castro, regarded as one of the best point guards in Asia, was whistled for a travelling violation after failing to get up a three-point shot against the defense of NBA veteran Pablo Prigioni.

It was the third straight loss for the Filipinos, who would need to win their last two games — against Puerto Rico on Wednesday and Senegal on Thursday – to have a chance at advancing to the KO stages of the 24-nation conclave.

And it was another chance to win that slipped by the hands of the terribly undersized yet doggedly determined Filipinos, who led by as big as 10 in the first quarter and almost erased a 15-point third quarter deficit to have a shot at it in the end.

Jimmy Alapag, in his international swan song, rallied the Philippines almost all by himself, shooting all five of his triple conversions in the second half.

His biggest basket seemingly came from the parking lot with 2:03 left which made it 81-82. Another conversion would have put the perfect ending to his sterling national team career.

“I still needed one more,” Alapag would later say. He failed to get a touch inside the final 24 seconds in that Philippine possession, as he was bottled up by Facundo Campazzo upon instructions from Lamas.

The Philippines had possession down by just 83-81, but coach Chot Reyes called time and wanted a three-point shot to win it in regulation because he knew that the Filipinos wouldn’t survive overtime if they converted on a two-point field goal.

Ranidel de Ocampo, who broke out with an 18-point production, was cramping up, and Andray Blatche wasn’t 100% and was already saddled with four personal fouls.

And because of the defense of Campazzo, the ball was left in the hands of Castro, who didn’t go for a drive and instead elected to commit a travelling violation instead of being blocked by Prigioni.

“Jimmy was denied,” Reyes said. “And Jason took that (three-point) shot because my instructions were for us to shoot a three. He could have driven (to the basket).”

Reyes, though, readily owned up to the Castro miscue and refused to point fingers after flubbing the chance for the country to post its biggest victory in its basketball history.

"As a coach, it's my responsibility to get good shots for my players," said Reyes. "My only regret in losing is that my boys tried so hard and I failed to get them a win. I failed to give our country a win."

The Philippines has made heads turn in this side of the competition, with Gabe Norwood having two monster dunks that will forever be played in Fiba’s highlight reels.

One of them came over no less than NBA player Luis Scola in the first half and the other over the 6-foot-7 Carlos Mata in the third period.

The game also drew the largest cheers from a jampacked gallery that had Argentine and Filipino fans stomping, singing, dancing and later on applauding each other in mutual respect.

Gilas battles Puerto Rico and former PBA import Renaldo Balkman at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday and the Filipinos would also hope that Argentina continues its winning ways against Senegal to stay alive.

“I will treat it like any other game,” Balkman, who drew a lifetime ban in the PBA for choking Petron teammate Arwind Santos last year, said.

A Philippine victory will go to naught if the Senegalese upset the Argentines, who are as vulnerable as any other in the group with top players Manu Ginobili and Carlos Delfino out of the lineup because of injuries.

And even if Senegal goes on to lose its last two games, the Philippines would still not be assured of advancing and would need to come up with a superior quotient to advance.