France’s Nando de Colo in game vs Philippines. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
French guard Nando de Colo has some praise and advice for the Philippine men’s national basketball team, which had already bowed out of the Fiba Olympic qualifying tournament.
The international star was one of France’s players who had a big game in a 93-84 win over Gilas Pilipinas when the two squads met on opening day.
“They are good players. I think they have really good individuality,” said the 29-year-old de Colo during France’s media availability Friday at Sofitel Manila.
“They play different kind of basketball than what we play in Europe. It’s more fastbreak, they run a lot.”
The Filipinos had a fiery start and led the French by 10 at one point. But their shooting turned sour and against the caliber of a team like France, Gilas, which also had a lot of defensive lapses, blew its chance.
De Colo pointed out Gilas’ offensive woes and offered his two cents’ worth on how to improve.
“They miss a little bit. They need to become stricter on offense to be a little bit better.”
France swept the group phase and will face Turkey in the semifinals.