THERE’S no better advice Gilas Pilipinas received on its coming trip to the Fiba World Cup in Spain next year than from the one who had experienced it first hand.
Iran’s Slovenian coach Mehmed Becirovic said that Gilas Pilipinas would need two to three more big men to get a fighting chance in the world championship.
“They (Filipinos) need size, that’s for sure,” said Becirovic, after the Iranians roughed up Gilas Pilipinas, 85-71, in the gold-medal match of the 27th Fiba Asia Championship on Sunday night at Mall of Asia Arena.
“They will need two to three more men who could defend and score inside,” he added.
The world championship is not unfamiliar ground to Becirovic, who led Slovenia to eighth place (five wins, four losses) in the 2010 Fiba World Championship in Istanbul.
With Becirovic at the helm, Slovenia beat Tunisia, Croatia, Brazil, Iran and Australia. The losses came from Turkey, Spain, Russia and NBA-powered United States.
Asian countries Iran and China finished with 1-4 records in the previous worlds while Lebanon and Jordan lost all their five outings.
On Sunday, Iran frontliners Hamed Haddadi (7-2) and Ashgar Kardoust (6-9) hammered the Filipinos inside the paint while 6-foot-8 swingman Samad Bahrami and peppery guard Mahdi Kamrani combined to apply pressure each time Gilas mounted a comeback.
Gilas’ 6-10 center Marcus Douthit didn’t play due to an injury, forcing coach Chot Reyes to lean on 6-6 Ranidel de Ocampo and 6-4 Marc Pingris in the shaded area along with 6-9s Japeth Aguilar and Junmar Fajardo.
“(The Filipinos) cannot play this way in the world championship,” said Becirovic. “It’s an entirely different level. You can only play this way if you have a big crowd behind you.”