Gilas' Asiad exit a cue to pursue improvement, says Alapag

MANILA, Philippines -- Gilas Pilipinas' disappointing finish in the Asian Games is an opportunity for the team to look into ways to improve, former Gilas ace Jimmy Alapag said. 

Gilas, champion of the last edition of the Asiad in Hangzhou, failed to reach the quarterfinal round of the Japan games this year after absorbing a 105-61 defeat against China earlier in the week. 

Needing to win or at least lose by less than 37 points to reach the next round, the Philippines was obliterated by 44 points by China. 

This year’s early exit is the worst-ever finish by the Philippines in the Asian Games men’s basketball tournament. 

Alapag, who served as team captain of Gilas and was a mainstay of the national team during his playing years, said it is important now to focus on improvement moving forward. 

“It's tough. Of course, I think we're all connected to Gilas. I think we all would have loved to see them perform better, but they tried their best. And sometimes, things like that happen. But we have to just find a way to continue to improve moving forward,” Alapag told reporters at the sidelines of the launch of Shoot 360 at Robinson’s Galleria. 

“At the end of the day, it's still a huge honor to represent the country. And I applaud those players in the middle of the PBA season to still dedicate their time and give their best effort. But, siyempre, at the end of the day, we fell short,” the coach of the NLEX Road Warriors in the PBA added. 

“So, it's important now to try to find ways that we can improve. But I think those guys and the players and the staff should still be applauded for doing their best to represent the country.” 

After absorbing a shock 89-85 defeat against Bahrain in the Asian Games’ opener, Gilas bounced back against Kazakhstan, 109-78, to keep themselves in the running for a quarterfinal berth. 

But China, which was eliminated by Gilas in the semifinal round in Hangzhou three years ago, came back with a vengeance. 

“It's tough. We weren't even given an opportunity to get to the knockout stage. But again, I don't know a lot of those players personally. But I think anytime you represent the country, those guys should still be applauded because it's the middle of the PBA season. They took on the responsibility to represent the country,” he said. 

“I’m sure andaming tao are disappointed with the result, which is understandable. But this is also an opportunity for us to see how can we improve the program, how can we help the players, so that this doesn't happen again for Gilas,” he added. 

“Kasi I know all of us, even myself. I would have loved to see the team perform better. But it's okay. We'll be back.” 

Alapag’s player in NLEX, Robert Bolick, is part of the squad in Japan. The coach, though, bared that Bolick is dealing with an injury. 

“I felt bad because kasi nag-usap kami,and I knew he was dealing with an injury. But the difficult part is, kahit injury or wala, when you play for the national team, there are still high expectations,” he said. 

“I'm sure he would have loved to be out there 100%. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.”