Gilas Pilipinas may have shown flashes of its full potential when it won over many-time African champion Ivory Coast in a recent tuneup game, but coach Chot Reyes sees a lot of room for improvement, like limiting their errors to the minimum.
“We had 18 turnovers. And that’s something we have to address,” said Reyes after his wards subdued African qualifier Ivory Coast, 85-62.
Reyes watched for the first time how NBA star Jordan Clarkson and six-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo played together with Scottie Thompson and Kai Sotto on Friday night at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Clarkson and Fajardo scored 13 points apiece to tow five Gilas Pilipinas players in double figures for Team Philippines.
“It’s the first time for us to play with Jordan, Kai and Scottie with the team, and we still have kinks in our offense,” said Reyes.
AJ Edu had 12 points and seven rebounds, Thompson added 11, and the 7’3” Sotto knocked in 10 points on 5 of 6 shooting.
With the win, Gilas got some confidence going into their first game in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup starting August 25 against the Dominican Republic.
Clarkson played without relief in the first half and had six rebounds, but sat out the first four minutes of the third quarter and the entire fourth period.
Gilas opened up scoring in the third period, getting double-digit leads before taking a 60-53 lead going to the final 10 minutes.
“We moved the ball. And we showed great intensity in moving the ball,” said Reyes. Peter Atencio
Gilas gave up their possession 18 times, two more than the Ivorians.
But the Nationals had five more assists (19), with five from Thompson, who appeared have fully recovered from a hand fracture. Peter Atencio