Gilas Pilipinas went on a tear against Bahrain to start their 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games campaign in style.
Justin Brownlee led all scorers and outplayed former Rain or Shine import Wayne Chism, 20 points to five. He also got help from Angelo Kouame, CJ Perez, Calvin Oftana, and June Mar Fajardo.
It is a strong start that's basically a breath of fresh air from the former Chot Reyes regime... and we have seen this before.
I am not saying that Thailand is easy pickings but the real Gilas test would be Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and the rest of Team Jordan. And not dissing Bahrain but, this is also that national team that once had Bader Malabes. Not belittling the former DLSU star, but if you saw him play in the UAAP, Bader is basically a second-string guard/forward.
Besides, remember the last team we had in the Asian Games? The 2018 Jakarta Asian Games offered the same breath of fresh air because this was the next major tourney after the Gilas versus Australia brawl. This was the first time we saw Jordan Clarkson as a viable naturalized player and he was joined by mostly current and former Rain or Shine players led by Gabe Norwood, Paul Lee, James Yap, Raymond Almazan, Beau Belga, Maverick Ahanmisi, and Chris Tiu. Completing the lineup are Christian Standhardinger, Stanley Pringle, Poy Erram, and Asi Taulava.
This team finished fifth.
But no biggie, because this team was a breath of fresh air.
Yeng Guiao was named coach of Gilas Pilipinas and the fans loved him.
Except that Gilas Pilipinas would then finish the 2019 FIBA World Cup under his watch winless and dead last in the standings.
Again, Jordan is going to be the real test.
China, Korea, and Japan too.
Nonetheless, the Asian Games is going to be in 2023 as it was in 2018 - a feel-good season-ender after a rocky battle with the final boss.