Philippines vs France in a FIBA OQT match at Mall of Asia Arena. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
The 84-93 defeat to World No. 5 France in the opener of the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament hardly put a dent on Gilas Pilipinas’ morale.
And that should serve the Filipinos in good stead as they fight for survival against New Zealand Wednesday night on Day Two of the tournament that dangles a spot in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
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The Filipinos refused to sulk even after the loss to the powerhouse French team led by NBA players Tony Parker and Boris Diaw, quickly switching their focus to what is expected to be another dogfight with the Tall Blacks.
“I told the team, we have to keep our heads up because we played well,” forward Marc Pingris told the Inquirer in Filipino before boarding the team bus.
“We lost but we learned and we have to bounce back tomorrow because its a do-or-die game.”
READ: FIBA OQT: Gilas Pilipinas yields to Parker, France
Much to the delight of the sellout crowd that included President Rodrigo Duterte, the Filipinos got off to a scintillating start, leading by as many as 10 points in the opening period behind Andray Blatche.
“I think we could have beaten them (France),” Pingris said.
“When we were playing the running game, we got the lead because they couldn’t handle our speed. We needed to run because they were the bigger team.”
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Indeed, Gilas flirted with an upset early, but couldn’t find another gear as the French methodically picked the Filipinos apart in the second half.
Still, the Filipinos were in the thick of the fight heading into the last three minutes when they were only down by four, 81-85, before the French scored inside baskets to seal the game.
“We were up by 10 and we relaxed and we got selfish,” said Blatche who finished with 21 points and eight rebounds.
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“We lost our discipline on both offense and defense and France just kept on attacking us.”
“We didn’t move the ball,” said gunner Jeff Chan, who accounted for three of Gilas’ 11 treys. “Coach told us we lost our lead because we played too much one on one.”
Guard Jayson Castro said cutting down on turnovers should put Gilas in a good position to win against New Zealand.
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“Maybe we should limit our turnovers because we had too many in this game,” said Castro, referring to the 18 errors of Gilas.
Blatche is adamant that Gilas responds with a strong effort on both ends of the floor against New Zealand.
“We are disappointed but we have a chance tomorrow. We just have to win by any means necessary,” said Blatche.