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Gilas Pilipinas’ back-to-back losses to Chinese Taipei and New Zealand follow the same story, with its foes racing to sizable leads on the back of strong three-point shooting
MANILA, Philippines – It’s not like Gilas Pilipinas came to the FIBA Asia Cup unprepared, but it just can’t seem to put its game plan into action.
Dwight Ramos made that candid assessment as the Philippines’ back-to-back losses to Chinese Taipei and New Zealand followed the same patterns, with its foes racing to sizable leads on the back of strong three-point shooting.
“We’re coming out, we know what we’re supposed to do, but we’re still shell-shocked,” Ramos said after the 94-86 defeat to Tall Blacks.
“We know they’re going to shoot threes, we know they’re going to play fast. We already knew that but they still did it.”
New Zealand built a lead as big as 18 points in the second quarter after scattering 9 of its 13 three-pointers in the first half.
Although the Filipinos fought back and got within a single possession down the stretch, the Kiwis’ lead proved too much to overcome.
It was the same story in its 95-87 loss to Chinese Taipei, which saw the Philippines play catchup from a 17-point deficit as the Taiwanese buried 12 three-pointers.
“Second half, we were playing the way we’re supposed to. I’m just hoping that we carry this momentum to the next game,” said Ramos.
For head coach Tim Cone, the team just has to be sharper in its defensive executions as it allowed its opponents to shoot a healthy 47% from three-point distance.
“To me, it’s just more mental adjustments than anything else. It’s just something we got to continue to talk about and work on and try to figure out why teams are shooting so well,” said Cone.
Gilas Pilipinas can still qualify for the knockout rounds with a win over fellow winless Iraq on Saturday, August 9.
“It’s all going to be about mental, getting loose balls, getting loose rebounds, and not allowing the extra possessions to get three-point shots up,” added Cone. – Rappler.com
