Building blocks

Gilas’ win over Chinese-Taipei at the Jones Cup in Taipei the other day was a morale booster not only for the national team players and coaching staff but also for the entire Filipino nation. For a while, it seemed like nothing could go right with Gilas after several shoo-ins for the squad backed out, the team lost three games in three days at the Toyota Four Nations Cup in Estonia, Andray Blatche excused himself to attend a funeral in the US and Jordan Clarkson arrived unsure of suiting up at the FIBA Asia Championships in Changsha on Sept. 23-Oct. 3.

Then came the huge victory over the host country last Sunday. What made the triumph more significant was coach Tab Baldwin worked his magic without Blatche, Clarkson, Ranidel de Ocampo and Jimmy Alapag. The Philippines erected a 19-point lead in the second quarter but Chinese-Taipei knotted the count, 54-all, before Gilas closed it out with a bang to hack out a 77-69 decision. Marc Pingris, who joined the team only last week, got the most playing time of any Gilas player with 32:48 minutes as Baldwin put him to work in rushing the Pinoy Sakuragi’s familiarity program. Pingris finished with four points and five rebounds but had four turnovers.

  Here are 10 observations from the game:

• Third quarter collapse. In Estonia, Gilas held the Netherlands on even terms in the first half and even led by eight but collapsed in the third period as the Dutch went on a 29-4 blitz. The same collapse recurred against Chinese-Taipei as Gilas was outscored, 23-7, in the third quarter last Sunday. The tendency of relaxing after a strong first half is something Gilas must check. The Philippines couldn’t bounce back in the Netherlands meltdown but luckily, against Chinese-Taipei, Gilas recovered to produce a late flurry.

• Manage Quincy. Chinese-Taipei’s naturalized player Quincy Davis finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds, including six offensive. It’s a smart trick to goad Chinese-Taipei to put the ball in Davis’ hands so as to take away the three-point option but the former Tulane star must be defended off the seal or at the post. Davis got away with too many put-backs for comfort. Davis is more difficult to manage if he’s teamed with burly Wen Ting Tseng because they screen out for each other. In picking your poison, you’d rather take your chances defending Davis inside the paint than Chinese-Taipei locating three-point bombers for open looks. Besides, Davis wouldn’t be too much of a problem with Blatche around.

• Crack down on shooters. Liu Cheng Tien Lei and Chen Shih Chieh combined for 32 points, 21 from three-point distance. Liu, the 2013-14 MVP of Chinese-Taipei’s Super Basketball League (SBL), didn’t play at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships in Manila but made his mark averaging 15.5 points when the national squad finished second at the FIBA Asia Cup last year. Liu, 24, is a 6-3 guard who can’t be left alone. His single-game SBL career highs include 34 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and six steals. Tien, often called by his Christian name Garrett, is a three-time SBL MVP. He’s 32, 6-8. Over the years, he’s put on quite a bit of weight and now scales 244 pounds. Tien is a deadshot from long range and his wrist-flick action is what gives him the perfect touch. He had 18 points in Chinese-Taipei’s 84-79 win over Gilas at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships so it’s not as if he’s a stranger to the Philippine defenders. Chen averaged 7.1 points at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships and is a three-point threat – he hit 2-of-4 last Sunday.

• Work combinations that click. Baldwin found the master combination that clicked down the stretch with Terrence Romeo and Jayson Castro teaming up to close out Chinese-Taipei. No doubt, what will win games for Gilas is its quickness which transforms into the ability to create turnovers and score in transition. Against Chinese-Taipei, Gilas forced 17 miscues and had 13 steals. Castro and Romeo give up a lot in size but there’s no backcourt in Asia that can keep in step with them.

• Make quick adjustments. When Chinese-Taipei went to the 2-2-1 and started to trap, Gilas lost its poise in the third period. The 2-2-1 slid to a 2-3 zone and Gilas tried to extricate by putting up long jumpers which couldn’t find the mark because the shooters were under pressure. The outside shot isn’t the only antidote to a zone. As soon as the trap kicks in, it’s a signal to put in a small lineup to break the press, zip in and out of the zone and keep the ball moving to find the open man. Big guys aren’t as quick to react to traps.

• Pile up points. In the Jones Cup, teams play a single round-robin and that’s it. There are no playoffs for the title. So the aim is to pile up as many points as possible in every game just in case you need a cushion to improve your quotient. Forget the sporting gesture of holding the ball in the last few seconds with your team on top. That happens in the NBA and sometimes, in the PBA. In the Jones Cup, you go for the basket in the dying seconds even if the outcome is settled. In the Chinese-Taipei game, Pingris held the ball in the last few seconds and didn’t bother to go for the basket. Chinese-Taipei didn’t resort to fouling in the late going because it would’ve meant giving Gilas more chances to score.

 • Beast mode. Calvin Abueva was a game-changer like Romeo against Chinese-Taipei. He had 15 points and five boards and didn’t miss from three-point range in two attempts. Gilas needs Abueva on the floor, not on the bench, so he’s got to know when to rein in as far as fouling is concerned. Abueva and Romeo are the leaders of Gilas’ youth brigade. Their value to Gilas is immeasurable. They provide energy and intensity. Their guts and spirit are infectious. Romeo finished with 18 points.

• Watch the post. Wen Ting Tseng got away with post moves last Sunday. Once, he beat Mo Tautuaa off the dribble in an isolation and Gilas provided no help. Castro was the nearest player available to help but he’s obviously too small to stop a 6-8 bulldozer. You’ll want to stick to your man on the weak side but you just can’t watch somebody back down and go for a layup unmolested.

• Protect the lead. Gilas was up by 19 at 47-28, in the second period but frittered away the lead as Chinese-Taipei stormed back to tie it. Point by point, Chinese-Taipei inched in and Gilas couldn’t stem the tide. Clearly, Gilas must do a better job in protecting the driver’s seat. You anticipate a fight-back and prepare for it. The key is to stay aggressive. If you play cautiously, you lose your competitive edge. It’s like playing not to lose instead of playing to win. Time-outs, substitutions and a floor leader to instill stability are critical in the face of an opponent making a comeback.

• Numbers don’t lie. Chinese-Taipei had more rebounds, 47-43, and assists, 10-8, but Gilas had less turnovers, 10-17 and more steals, 13-5. Gilas managed to win despite taking 13 less free throws. Chinese-Taipei went 16-of-24 from the line while Gilas was only 7-of-11. Gilas has to get to the stripe a lot more, meaning it has to be more aggressive in attacking the basket to draw contact.

There were building blocks that emerged from the win over Chinese-Taipei for Gilas to use on the road to Changsha. The upside is Gilas could play even better with De Ocampo, Blatche and Clarkson in harness.