WHATEVER hangover Gilas Pilipinas had from its epic quarterfinal clincher against FIBA Asia Cup host Saudi Arabia, mighty Australia quickly washed it away with a strong dose of reality pill.
They’re no peers. At least not yet.
And the Nationals are well aware of the tremendous amount of labor needed before even getting close to such status.
“No doubt the Australian athleticism and length, even though you see it on video, when you get up there and start playing against it on the court, you realize that they’re very superior,” Gilas coach Tim Cone said after the three-peat-seeking Boomers gave them the boot with an 84-60 whipping on Wednesday.
“We just had a hard time staying in front of them, challenging their threes and they moved the ball really well and they got up shots quick. They played at a really good pace and they also did a great job defending Justin (Brownlee), limiting him to only seven shots,” he added.
If anything, the one-sided Last-8 showdown in Jeddah gave Mr. Cone and Co. a better comprehension on how to deal with the world No. 7 Aussies when they meet again.
That’s sure to happen as group mates in the coming FIBA World Cup Qualifiers (WCQ), where they’re booked for a home and away duel on March 1 and July 6 next year.
“They imposed their will on us and we’ve got to figure out a way to overcome that,” said Mr. Cone.
The veteran tactician intends to keep his handpicked dozen for the next clashes.
“We put this team together for the long term and try to get them to grow together and get better. And if we’re going to just go ahead and change personnel, then we’re all back to zero again,” he said.
“So we’re going to use this and try to make some adjustments. The big missing piece for us is Kai Sotto and hopefully we get Kai (Sotto) and that makes us a little bit more competitive (next time).”
Gilas breaks camp for now and is expected to reassemble by November ahead of the WCQ opener. First up are back-to-back games in Group A against Guam (Nov. 28 away and Dec. 1 home) in the first window then it’s time to meet the big dogs in Window 2 — New Zealand on Feb. 26 and Australia three days later, both in Manila.
“It’s a great learning experience for us,” said young gun Kevin Quiambao, who made the Asia Cup his breakout tournament and even took scoring cudgels for Gilas versus the Aussies with 17. “We will carry this over onto the next one in November.” — Olmin Leyba
