Lessons from Kazakhstan

A few hours after crushing Kazakhstan, 96-59, to open its Asian Games campaign on a high note at the 2,920-seat Gelora Bung Karno Basketball Hall in Jakarta yesterday morning, the Philippines returned to the gym in the afternoon to work Jordan Clarkson into coach Yeng Guiao’s system and started preparations for the next game against China on Tuesday.

Gilas won’t enjoy the luxury of scouting China before their appointment because the Chinese debut against the Philippines then play Kazakhstan on Thursday. China, in contrast, saw the Philippines demolish Kazakhstan and surely, put a target on Stanley Pringle who sizzled for 18 points in 22:07 minutes. Chinese Basketball Association chairman, FIBA Central Board member and NBA legend Yao Ming watched the contest at courtside. From the VIP box, Yao got up and went over to talk to the Chinese scouts at the upper box level in the third quarter. The mystery is how Gilas will tweak its attack with Clarkson in the lineup. That’s something China has no idea of what to expect. 

Clearly, Gilas did its homework in figuring out how to stop Kazakhstan. Without injured Kazakh stars Anton Ponomarev and Anatoly Koleshnikov, Gilas focused on stopping the big three – Rustam Murzagaliyev, Rustam Yergali and Aleksandr Zhigulin. Gilas assistant coach and chief scout Ryan Gregorio knew that with the frontline crippled by the absence of the two bigs, Kazakhstan would swing its attack to the backcourt where the two Rustams have frolicked in the first three windows of the FIBA Asia/Pacific World Cup Qualifiers.

Gilas’ No. 1 stopper Gabe Norwood was assigned to shadow point guard Yergali with the goal of disrupting the flow of Kazakhstan’s execution on the offensive end. And when the ball got to Murzagaliyev, he was trapped. Gilas set the tone early by clamping down on Kazakhstan’s backcourt as Maverick Ahanmisi scored two fastbreak layups off swipes on traps. The first quarter ended with Kazakhstan held to only nine points. Gilas was scoreless in the last four minutes of the period but its defense kept Kazakhstan at bay. In the second quarter, Kazakhstan was limited to only 11 points so for the half, the Kazakh output was only 20.

Kazakhstan staged a mild uprising in the third, scoring 23 points to Gilas’ 20 but in the fourth, the Philippines erupted for 35 with Paul Lee firing 10, Christian Standhardinger eight, Pringle and Asi Taulava five each, Raymond Almazan four and Chris Tiu three. The stats showed how the game was won. Gilas shot 45 percent from the floor and Kazakhstan, 35 percent. From beyond the arc, Kazakhstan was good for only five while the Philippines knocked down 12. Gilas had more steals, 16-6, more turnover points, 29-4 and more blocks, 3-0. Four Gilas players finished in double figure points. Only Anton Bykov was in twin digits with 13 for Kazakhstan. Murzagaliyev went scoreless in 22:36 minutes on 0-of-6 from the field, including 0-of-4 from distance. In six FIBA Qualifier games so far, he shot a lofty 46.9 percent from three-point range. Yergali went 1-of-7 from the floor in 28:25 minutes and Zhigulin shot 2-of-10. Gilas’ defense was the key.

Despite the big win, there’s no reason to celebrate even as the Philippines is virtually assured to advance to the quarterfinals. A loss to China will mean Gilas facing the top finisher in Group A, South Korea. But a win will pit Gilas against the Group A runner-up, likely to be Thailand after its one-point win over Mongolia the other day. A win in the quarterfinals will elevate Gilas to the Final Four. Beating China is the next challenge and Clarkson will be on the Gilas side to try to make it happen.

There are several lessons to learn from the Kazakhstan win. First, Gilas must be conscious of how the international game is officiated. Tiu and Yap were both called for unsportsmanlike fouls, leading to two free throws and possession. In a close game, an unsportsmanlike foul can turn the complexion around completely. Almazan was close to getting an unsportsmanlike foul and got away with an elbow to a Kazakh player’s chin. The Kazakh player didn’t react at all after taking the hit, something Gilas players should emulate in a similar situation. Second, Gilas must be aware of the nuances of the international game like players can’t call timeouts and an inbound pass must be made inside five seconds with no bailout. PBA rules are different so Gilas players must make sure they break their pro habits.

Third, Gilas must finish under the basket. Pringle, Ahanmisi and Standhardinger missed layups, some of which were almost uncontested. Against China, the margin of error must be paper-thin and Gilas can’t afford to blow easy shots. Fourth, Gilas must be more aggressive in slashing to the basket. In the first period against Kazakhstan, Gilas didn’t take a single free throw. There was too much settling for the outside shot. Gilas took 39 two-point and 39 three-point shots when the ratio should be more like 70-30 or 60-40 especially since the Philippines’ two-point field goal percentage was 59 and the clip from beyond the arc was 31. Fifth, Gilas must close out hard on three-point shooters. China has deadlier perimeter gunners than Kazakhstan. Luckily for Gilas, Kazakhstan fared miserably from distance even if they had wide open looks. 

Sixth, Gilas must be careful not to give up unnecessary fouls. Kazakhstan took advantage of Gilas’ penalty situation period after period and wound up with 31 free throw attempts compared to the Philippines’ 24. Standhardinger, Almazan, Beau Belga and Taulava must manage their fouls judiciously when they go up against China’s towers. Seventh, Gilas can’t afford to dribble away seconds from the shot-clock. Ball movement must be crisp and quick. The ball can’t stay in the hands of any one player more than three seconds. Eighth, Gilas must identify the gaps in the defense and create situations to exploit the open lanes. Ninth, Gilas must set a line of help defense if China slips the hard show in the pick-and-roll. Kazakhstan got away with a few easy baskets on the roll off the screen. Finally, Gilas must work together as a team on both ends. Gilas got a little comfortable in the third period and players strayed from the plan, giving Kazakhstan a window to rally. Against China, there can be no comfort zone.