I am speechless.
That third quarter sucked.
June Mar Fajardo had four points in that stretch, with CJ Perez getting the other two points, but it felt like every player had bad juju.
Dwight Ramos turned gunshy. Chris Newsome was neutralized because of how he dribbles. Justin Brownlee can’t find his shot. And Tim Cone went from masterful to stoic. And I know we are missing the services of Kai Sotto, but it felt like the lineup was tired, and it felt like Gilas should have tried to win the Georgia game.
Kevin Quiambao could have been a magic bunot. Ditto for Mason Amos. CJ Perez, both fearless and erratic, should have been inserted in the lineup when Brazil had its 12-0 run at the start of the third quarter. Carl Tamayo had his lapses, but he was fighting. Calvin Oftana had a disappointing tournament.
Honestly, it was hard to watch.
It’s not that I suddenly watch to distance myself from Gilas Pilipinas' love. It’s just that getting that high and then getting this low for the squad just sucks. I am writing this blog with Brazil erecting a 16-point lead because of the outstanding plays of Marcelino Huertas.
For starters, whoever thought we went from getting scared with Mahdi Kamrani to one of the best Brazilian players not named Oscar Schmidt.
71 to 60.
GG.
Brownlee still led all Gilas players with 15 points, but 12 of his points came in the first half. I forgot that Dwight Ramos did well in the first half to finish with 13 markers. June Mar Fajardo had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and most of his points were hard-fought and came at a time when Brazil lorded over our compatriots.
CJ Perez had 10 points off 5-of-7 shooting in 21 minutes of action.
Gilas lacked the urgency, but it’s an understandable version of urgency that we lacked. Latvia and Georgia are teams that we know from months back. Meanwhile, we just learned that Brazil was our opponent after the Georgia game. If I was part of the Gilas coaching staff, I would still prepare for Latvia and Georgia, and just let nature take its course against whoever is left in the other bracket. Why waste effort to a team that you don’t know if you’re going to face over the teams that you know you’re going to face?
It’s just unfortunate that we had no answers for the Brazil onslaught.
Again, we are talking about an 11-point lead against the world’s number 12 team.
It’s a bittersweet realization.
At least the positive here is that we know we can beat European teams with preparation because we need to have this knowledge to prevail over Australia and New Zealand.
WE DEFEATED LATVIA!!!
Cone will likely keep this lineup, but I really hope he’ll also use the FIBA Asia qualifiers to trust Quiambao and Amos. We also need a pass-first playmaker, even as a mere standby because as capable as Newsome was against Latvia and Georgia, his two dribbling violations are costly.
We also need to fight for wins and not settle on quotients. The two-point Georgia loss proved costly, especially if Latvia coasts on Cameroon. And as much as I hate talent pools, they need to have at least prospects lined up in case of injuries, with ready visas.
RR Pogoy and his three-point shooting could have mattered against Brazil.
And yeah, I almost forgot.
We have to change our basketball culture.
When the two commentators were consoling the Gilas fans that the future looks bright for our country, I had a dumb stare.
How can that happen when most of the players are in their mid-30s? Our basketball team is always in win-now mode and the only way to escape four or five years of college is by traveling to East Asia. Quiambao and Amos are the youngsters of the squad and they are still stuck in the UAAP, with Amos getting a one-year sabbatical because he switched from Ateneo to DLSU.
Again, I know education is important, but if your dream is to become a top-tier basketball player, then collegiate eligibility is a hindrance more than an assurance. Scottie Thompson is an example of a player who continued his education even after his MVP season in the PBA.
We need to make people understand that the PBA is going to be a security blanket for players who want to play in the other leagues but don’t want the idea of getting blacklisted.
And while we’re at it, I don’t like the idea of placing a lot of faith in Jordan Heading. If he is a similar breed as that of Ramos, then he would have sought Tim Cone first before accepting any other gigs. We also live in a time when there are Fil-Am journeymen all around the globe. It’s hard for us to rely on Mikey Williams because he is already in his 30s and is looking to either settle in the United States or look for better opportunities. The same goes with Heading, who was drafted by Terrafirma in the 2020 Gilas Special Round, and Jason Brickman, who is basically a better version of former ABL Fil-Am Avery Scharer in the sense that they have had a lot of opportunities to join the PBA but for some reason, they ditched it all.
But all in all, Gilas did better than what was expected from them. Again, we are disappointed because the number 12 team in the world defeated us, and how awesome it is that we have the Kai Sotto excuse too. Brazil was down by six in the first half, and we are now realizing that we have the chance to play the basketball superpowers without the threat of a blowout.
We have to take this momentum in Asia though. We can’t just go nuts on the world stage and then falter against the Asian squads. I know Australia and New Zealand are still too much for us, with China, Japan, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran, and Korea a pain for us.
A couple of days ago, Japan just lost to Korea in a tourney to prepare the Japanese for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. Instead of hating our Filipino imports, we need to encourage the Japanese and Koreans to get our players because we get to see something from their game, as well as the development of their players.
Again, we tried this a decade ago, but we ditched the idea because their imports are not as good as ours.
I know the defeat is heartbreaking, but it’s just one barrier that we need to break.