MANILA, Philippines – Before the Philippine national basketball team, popularly known as Gilas Pilipinas, faced Turkey on Friday in the final of a series of tune-up games leading up to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila next week, head coach Tab Baldwin wrote one word on the board in the locker room:
Accountability.
At night’s end, following another (though more competitive) defeat to the Turks, Baldwin was still preaching the same message. The national team may have played and looked better than they did compared to their 35-point blow out loss in Istanbul last week, but it was only a small step towards what’s going to be a gigantic climb for a ticket to the Rio Olympics.
Let’s lay out the facts here: for Gilas Pilipinas to win the OQT next week, it will have to defeat 5 other nations, 4 of which are ranked higher than them in the FIBA World rankings, and two (France, Turkey) which are in the top 10. That means that for the Pinoy crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena to see its hometown team win gold at the end of the Qualifiers, the national team is going to have to be nothing short of perfect.
On Friday evening against Turkey, it was not. The same type of showing next week may get them a fighting chance to move past the first round, but forget even advancing by the semifinals. The opposition is too talented and too good; the margin of error way too slim.
“Much better but not good enough,” were Baldwin’s words to the media post game.
“We still have time to work on that. We expect that France (which Gilas faces first on Tuesday, July 5) will present some different problems than Turkey. Obviously, lessons were learned and improvement was made.”
Gilas actually got off to a good start, leading by 6 in the first half. Andray Blatche played slimmer and better. He was driving in the lane, knocking down outside shots, and even blocking NBA player Omer Asik on the other end. It was almost like watching Draymond Green in the flesh.
Jayson Castro was his usual silent and cerebral self, and Terrence Romeo provided the offensive spark the team has come expect. Though not packed, the crowd at the MOA Arena was rampant with excitement in the first period, the belief of victory in the air.
And then, slowly but surely, Turkey took control of the game with their international experience in display. A 3-pointer by Geyik Samet at the buzzer of the first half increased the lead to 7, and the Turkish team managed to go up by as many as 17 in the third period.
A lot of that was because of what Turkey was doing - they are ranked number 8 in the world, after all - but truth be told, Gilas was also fortunate with some of the easy bunnies and open 3-pointers the Turks were missing.
Some of the Philippines’ wounds were self-inflicted as well, notably the unforgivable 15-of-26 shooting from the foul line and turnovers. Gilas had only 11 giveaways for the game which seems okay, but many of those were live-ball, leading to 13 easy Turkey points. And in some possessions, Blatche and the national team settled for over-dribbling that led to isolation pull-ups - the opposite of ideal when facing a line-up as big and long as Turkey’s.
Does it seem like nitpicking? Sure. But Baldwin’s words said it best: “We just don’t have a margin for error and those of us that make mistakes, the impact of our mistakes is much greater than the impact of the mistakes that Turkey or France will make.”
The national team isn’t entering the Qualifiers with the expectation of only to compete and give the powerhouses of the world a nudge in the arm.
“Execution is so much better, both ends of the floor,” Baldwin did credit his boys. “Still defensively, we’re reacting a little bit rather than scheming. We have to scheme better, but there’s big improvements in our schemes, but we still get caught sometimes making wrong rotations.
“I’d like to say that it’s all mental, but every single one of us had bad habits. Sometimes you know you’re not supposed to do something but habit takes you where you’re not supposed to go, and we still suffer from that.”
It was clear in Baldwin’s words that he wants to commend Gilas for improving quite a sum in a short period of time, though the caution he was heeding also warned that the preparation they have to still accomplish is far from finished.
That Gilas was able to trim the lead down to 5 in the fourth period, or was unwavering in their purpose to keep battling until the final buzzer sounded give reason for optimism. It’s more a question of “when” and not “if” Romeo will break the ankles of an international opponent, and his individual brilliance is clearly necessary for when Gilas’ offense stalls. Additionally, he showed flashes of his potential as an elite passer, finding Troy Rosario open under the rim at one point after drawing in multiple defenders.
But, once again, it still isn’t good enough. The promise is there, though as Baldwin describes, it was only “a taste of improvement" and they have a lot of space for more.
“This was a step much closer to the goal that we have, but we’re not there. We can’t kid ourselves that just by being better, we’re good enough. We’re not.”
He later said, “We believe in this team, we believe in the last steps we have to take, but we have to be incredibly uncompromising with ourselves.”
Gilas no longer has months or weeks to prepare for the upcoming battle. It has 4 days, and the first team on the other end of the court ready to deliver a haymaker is France, the most lethal opposition of the Manila OQT.
Winning gold in the Qualifiers and punching a ticket to Rio would be the perfect storybook ending for the Philippines after years of heartbreak, but in order for that to happen, they themselves will have to be perfect. – Rappler.com