Positives from Lebanon

Even as the Philippines took a tumble from back-to-back second place finishes in the previous FIBA Asia Cups to seventh in the recent edition in Lebanon, there were positives that Gilas took away. First, it provided a gauge of the caliber of opposition in the coming FIBA home-and-away qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China particularly as Australia is in the Philippines’ bracket in the first round. Second, the newly refurbished Gilas lineup got a taste of quality international competition and the experience will go a long way. 

Third, Terrence Romeo shone brightly as a scorer who can compete with Asia’s best. Fourth, Gabe Norwood showed he remains a valuable asset as a do-it-all guy, averaging 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and a team-high 1.5 steals. Fifth, Christian Standhardinger proved to be an outstanding find, leading Gilas in field goal percentage with 60.6. Sixth, Japeth Aguilar displayed his maturity by sacrificing his offense to focus on defense, averaging 6.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and a team-high 1.8 blocks. Seventh, Jayson Castro stayed tough as coach Chot Reyes’ floor leader, averaging a team-high 5.7 assists. Eighth, Matthew Wright emerged as a reliable sniper, hitting 47.1 percent from three-point distance and never missing a free throw. Ninth, Carl Bryan Cruz, R. R. Pogoy, Jio Jalalon, Raymond Almazan, JuneMar Fajardo and Calvin Abueva also had their moments of brilliance. And tenth, Reyes came through as the man with the ability, guts and savvy to lead Gilas onward in the quest for spots in the World Cup and the Olympics.

Now, it’s clear that if Gilas intends to make an impact in the coming FIBA World Cup qualifiers, a few weeks of training won’t do. Not even a month of practice. The competition in FIBA Asia is extremely high-level and as other teams train for months, Gilas can’t short-cut the process and expect to be as competitive. Mid-game adjustments and playing defense by committee are things that teams work on for long hours at practice. Lebanon was a reminder that there’s no substitute for hard work and meticulous preparation in concocting a recipe for success in international basketball.

By the way, TV5 sent a team to Lebanon to produce segments for the “Kwentong Gilas” series with Nick Earnshaw as producer, Glen Ternal as cameraman and Jutt Sulit as writer/host. Chu Villar is “Kwentong Gilas” executive producer. “I’m just so proud of everyone,” said TV5 Sports head Patricia Bermudez-Hizon. “It’s been challenging but we’re all growing. Our commentators are world-class. They make all the hard work we do to prepare for the games worthwhile. I’m working on new things to continue with the training, exchange of ideas, forums and others to make all of us even better because we never want to stop learning.”

NBA veteran Andray Blatche has a year left in his Xinjiang Flying Tiger contract in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). It’s not certain if he has an out-clause to play for Gilas. The CBA season is from October to April. In Fil-German Christian Standhardinger’s case, the ABL opens in November and ends in April. Standhardinger recently inked a sixth-month contract to play with the Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions in the ABL. Both Blatche and Standhardinger are listed as naturalized imports for the Philippines by FIBA.

The first round of the FIBA home-and-away World Cup qualifying series involves three windows on Nov. 20-28, Feb. 19-27 and June 25-July 3. Gilas’ first round schedule lists six games – in Japan on Nov. 24, against Chinese-Taipei in Manila on Nov. 27, in Australia on Feb. 22, against Japan in Manila on Feb. 25, in Chinese-Taipei on June 29 and against Australia in Manila on July 2.

 SBP executive director Sonny Barrios said there may be slight adjustments in the schedule as Japan has requested to advance its home game to Nov. 23 while the Philippines has asked to delay its home game against Japan to Feb. 27. Barrios said Gilas team manager Butch Antonio is arranging to confirm the adjustments with FIBA.