DESPITE the fact that the Philippines is ranked behind France, which is No. 5 in the FIBA World ratings and New Zealand, which is at No. 21 or seven notches higher than the Philippines, it’s no reason to give up our national team and its chances, slim though they may be on the surface of making it to the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games by winning the FIBA Qualifying Tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena beginning on July 5.
Two crushing defeats at the hands of a tall, agile and amazing three-point shooting Turkish team and a tough Italian squad, the Philippines scored what must be regarded as a consolation 82-79 victory over China in its final game before escaping the tragic and senseless killing of innocent people at the crowded international airport in Ankara by leaving for Manila hours before deranged rebels struck, killing over 40 people.
The human carnage was much like the battering we suffered at the hands of the Turkish team that took the same flight with Gilas to Manila.
Coach Tab Baldwin, who steered New Zealand to a respectable fourth-place finish in the World Basketball Championships in 2002 and recorded their best-ever finish at an international competition and earned an automatic berth in the 2004 Olympics, said it succinctly when he noted: “We can’t just close that gap by playing hard and putting a lot of effort out there (in the Manila qualifiers). There is not much we can do physically between now and the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, but there’s a lot we can do mentally.”
There has been some criticism over the fact that Calvin “The Beast” Abueva was cut from the Final 12, alongside point guard LA Tenorio, who apparently took it well, unlike the Alaska star, who many considered a shoo-in.
Baldwin explained the thinking behind the Abueva cut, pointing out that the coaching staff was looking at “size and discipline,” which are key factors for an undersized Philippine squad.
Beyond that, was “the ability to play cohesively and play as a unit and submit to what the team is doing.”
The implication is that “The Beast” fell short in this regard.
As coach Baldwin mentioned: “It’s not the best 12 players or the 12 most valuable players, but those who understand and match what we need to do.”
Marc Pingris, who plays with the same kind of intensity as Abueva and exemplifies the leadership qualities that the team needs, appealed to fans and even some elements of the media to set aside their criticism and give the Gilas Pilipinas team “the support we need because we have a war on our hands.”
The coach of Turkey Halil Ergin Atama, whose team is bracketed alongside Canada and Senegal in Group A, while Gilas is paired with France and New Zealand in Group B, candidly stated: “I don’t give them (the Philippines) a chance against France, but maybe against New Zealand they will fight and have a chance.”
What the Turkey coach apparently forgot was that Gilas Pilipinas scared the hell out of FIBA Euro champions before dropping a close 75-68 game in the opener of the 2014 Antibes International Basketball Tournament in the Azur Arena in Antibes, France.
That Gilas squad qualified for the World Cup in Spain by finishing runners-up to Iran in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships before a huge crowd that packed the Mall of Asia Arena every single game and cheered our team and coach Chot Reyes with unbridled passion throughout.
In the said Antibes tourney, Reyes, who was a mixture of fire and ice when he needed to, saw Gilas make 12 of 29 baskets from beyond the arc, but unfortunately fell cold down the stretch as France snatched the victory with a 20-8 run in the final seven minutes to prevent a stunning upset.
Nicolas Batum, who scored 12 points in the second half and kept France alive before his teammates got their act together and was originally believed to be skipping Manila, was in the roster of 13 players released by FIBA and it included towering 6’11” center Joeffrey Lauvergne, who in Antibes, capitalized on the absence of former NBA standout and naturalized Filipino Andray Blatche, who hurt his ankle in the third quarter and although coach Reyes sent him back in for a final run, the ex-Brooklyn Net continued to hobble.
Boris Diaw, who will play the wing, missed all four attempts in that game and finished with one point, but grabbed 10 rebounds.
Reyes believes Baldwin picked Troy Rosario over Abueva because he is “the only one who can match up with Diaw,” on the wing. Indeed, Rosario at times was “the best player on the team,” according to Chot.
We ourselves believe that officiating in the PBA allows Abueva to get away with the kind of fouls they call in the pro league, but won’t survive under the FIBA officiating principles. In short, what he can do in Asia he cannot do in international competitions.
Reyes conceded that coach Baldwin will have to figure out on whether we “go all-out against France because we will face New Zealand, which will be fully rested the following day.”
But since we are playing before a hometown crowd, Reyes posed the difficult question: “How do we not go all out?”
The answer may well be to go all out at the start and if we can’t hack it, reserve our players for the next day. Seems logical.
Reyes, who is a fighter and never known to give up, told The Standard: “France is really tough but if we play them well, I think we have a chance.”
Our next best hope is if we can’t overcome France, let it all hang out against New Zealand, which will be without the imposing figure of Steven Adams in the paint. He is a killer as he shown in the NBA Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors. Without him, Gilas Pilipinas has at least a 50-50 chance of making the crossover semifinals and with some luck, can get into a finals showdown for a trip to Rio.
While most pundits are picking France, Ranked 5 in the FIBA World Rankings as the team to beat in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila from July 5 to 10, it would be best not to count out New Zealand, whose Tall Blacks’ squad is capable of standing tall against some of the best teams in the draw.
The Tall Blacks are bracketed with France and Philippines and are ranked 21 in the world.
Gilas Pilipinas is ranked No. 28, certainly not bad for a team which only in recent years under the dynamic leadership of esteemed sportsman-businessman Manny Pangilinan and executive director and former Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner Renaul “Sonny” Barrios have redeemed international respect for the Philippines.
FIBA itself believes that those who know all about the international game feel the Tall Blacks appear to have a good a chance as any side in qualifying for the Rio Olympics. This is the view of coach Paul Henare, who continued to drill this belief into the hearts and minds of his 12-man squad in the weeks before the Manila tournament gets underway.
By all accounts, the Tall Blacks are regarded as one of the toughest teams to face and as combative as ever especially after the recent stint in Asia.
Competing in the Atlas Challenge Cup against host nation China in Suzhou, the Tall Blacks came through what was described as “a test of character with flying colors in a fiercely fought and often times controversial third-place playoff match against China, winning 90-84 in Suzhou.”
Tom Abercrombie was a star on the big occasion, as were Isaac Fotu and Shea Ili. Abercrombie with a game high 27 points on 9 of 14 shooting, including 4 of 7 from deep and a perfect 5 from 5 from the free throw line. Fotu poured in 21 points on 8 of 13, including an ice-cold three-point dagger in the final minute of the game to gap the Chinese, while Ili stepped up big time, with Corey Webster in early foul trouble, the Breakers’ point guard had a career night with 15 points and 5 boards and was a constant menace on defense.
Henare was proud of the passion shown by his side, not to mention the ability to stay calm in the face of immense pressure, including a delay of the game by almost an hour before tip-off.
“I am very proud of the boys, any time you prepare for a game and you are on court and finishing your warm up and they tell you the game is delayed 50 minutes that is tough for anyone to deal with. I spoke to them and said we have to deal with it, it is what it is. I said I wouldn’t like to be in their position but they had to find some way to come out and get themselves going and while we didn’t get a good start which wasn’t ideal, I did have a feeling that if we could just chip away at it we would be fine,” said Henare in a post-game interview.
The team faced a long travel day to Europe where they were based in Latvia and Lithuania for 10 days, with a week of training before three final tune-up games ahead of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila.
Kirk Penney has made sure that New Zealand gets the underdog tag in Manila.
But he says that with nine returnees from the 2014 World Cup team, which includes five of the top scorers and rebounders who are closer to their prime than two years ago with only Mike Vukona nearing the tail end of his career, they have a chance.
That Tall Blacks team beat Ukraine and Finland in the World Cup and came close to beating
Turkey and Lithuania, so the prospect of facing the likes of France, the Philippines, Turkey, Senegal and Canada, isn’t a daunting task.
The Tall Blacks are hell-bent on slaying a couple of the Goliaths in Manila. Time will tell whether they can make it happen.