Gilas: Bright new moments in Taipei

THERE were great moments from a couple of Gilas national team first-timers which will not be easy to forget, mainly by overseas Filipino workers who were largely outnumbered by hometown Taiwanese fans on Sunday.

There was reason to get carried away after Gilas Pilipinas, down on luck and decimated, scored a gallant win over favored Chinese-Taipei Team A in the Jones Cup tournament.

In fact, Filipinos in the overflow stadium swam in the closing-minute euphoria, chanting it was now time for everybody to go home and sleep—“Uwian na! Uwian na!”

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There were many things to appreciate, like national team newcomers Calvin Abueva and Terrence Romeo providing timely fire with their speed, power and sharpness.

Veteran premier point guard Jason Castro ably completed a trio of swashbuckling snipers, who all shone brightest in the choking final minutes of the final quarter.

The more admirable thing, though, was the manner national coach Tab Baldwin kept his poise and objectivity.

Baldwin said it was not the time to get carried away. There were many things to do and improve on.

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So on with the next game (against South Korea) last night.

What may have escaped the eyes of many fans was that, although Gilas patently displayed a lot of spunk and heart, the national team could well afford more composure, mainly in defense.

He did not say it, but Baldwin must’ve wanted to say they can’t afford to go on winning perilously.

Of course, Gilas will have to go through several critical tests before it can gain and claim a degree of maturity.

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Plaudits for Abueva and Romeo swirled, centering on how the duo performed with enviable grit and poise in the nerve-frazzling windup.

But although nothing was said of it, it’s clearly a new system, competently concocted and hammered down by Baldwin, which made a world of difference for Gilas Pilipinas.

Suddenly gone was the hackneyed one-track dribble-and-shoot offense, which had been the bread and butter of the Gilas squad that fought it out in the 2014 Fiba World Cup in Spain.

The system employed by Gilas on Sunday, anchored on unified mobility and selfless harmonious ball movement, clearly provided richer scoring options anytime on the floor.

There’s reason to believe this phenomenal development—may it stick and prosper—bodes well not only for Gilas but for poor Philippine basketball as a whole.