MANILA, Philippines — Gilas head coach Yeng Guiao admitted yesterday he was worried that the pressure of winning the last two games in the FIBA Asia/Oceania World Cup Qualifiers could throw a monkey wrench into the plans for a sweep with the national team’s back against the wall.
To make it to the World Cup, the Philippines not only had to beat Qatar and Kazakhstan on the road but Lebanon or Jordan had to lose one of its last two contests. So Gilas’ fate was not totally in its hands. But the real challenge was to win two in a row in the sixth window for a chance to qualify.
Guiao said he deflected the pressure on the players by assuming absolute accountability for whatever would be the outcome. “The pressure to get to the World Cup was mounting after losing both of the home games,” he said. “But I tried to shield the players from the pressure by telling them that in case we fail in our mission, I will take full responsibility. All I asked of them was to give their very best and they did.” It was the secret to the sweep.
“In the most difficult times, the two things they held on to was the strong bond of brotherhood and the pride of playing for flag and country,” continued Guiao. “I didn’t know Andray (Blatche) personally before this window but all my doubts and apprehensions disappeared when I saw what kind of competitive spirit he had in him. I knew he was good but I was unsure of his commitment to this team because of things I’d heard about him previously. Now I know better.”
Blatche could’ve rejoined Gilas for the Iran game in the fifth window but Guiao opted to enlist Christian Standhardinger instead for chemistry purposes. Standhardinger had played for Guiao in the Asian Games last year. Guiao called in Blatche for the sixth window and the nine-year NBA veteran reported for duty, taking a break from his club Tianjin in the Chinese Basketball Association.
It could’ve been easy sailing for the Philippines if not for the brawl against Australia in the third window. After six games over three windows, the Philippines had a 4-2 record and was in contention to finish among the top three in its group in the second round of eliminations. But after the Australia melee, FIBA sacked 10 Gilas players – two for one game, four for three, three for five and one for six. Guiao took over from coach Chot Reyes starting the fourth window and brought in 10 players who hadn’t seen action in the previous six outings to suit up against Iran. Gilas lost, 81-78 but rebounded to wallop Qatar, 92-81 to close out the window.
Then came the debacle at home. In the fifth window, the Philippines lost to Kazakhstan, 92-88 and Iran, 78-70, both at the MOA Arena, sending Gilas to the brink of elimination. That set the stage for the sixth and final window where Guiao named a 15-man pool, including Standhardinger who was later excused from attending practice and joining the team in Doha and Astana since Blatche had checked in to reclaim his spot as Gilas’ only naturalized import.