Photo from Fiba.com
Gilas Pilipinas may be the favored team against Chinese Taipei on Monday, but Jayson Castro reminded his team not let its guard down against its fierce rival.
“We can’t be that confident because Chinese Taipei had beaten us before,” Castro said after team practice Sunday.
Castro harked back to the two nations’ clash in the 2016 Fiba Asia Challenge in Iran, where the Taiwanese topped a young Gilas crew.
Roger Pogoy, Mac Belo, and Carl Bryan Cruz were the lone remnants of that team and that loss is still fresh in their memories.
“That’s a good example for us to learn from, and a motivation for us not to let that happen again,” said Castro.
The speedy playmaker liked what he saw from the Philippines’ 77-71 win over Japan last Friday.
“We’re good. At least, the team’s composure was tested in that game against Japan. Even though our opponents came back, the team showed that we don’t get rattled that easily,” he said.
He also believes that his fellow guards Kevin Alas and Kiefer Ravena will perform better after their silent showing in Tokyo especially with the game being played at home.
“It was our first game and it’s noticeable that we still lacked in preparation. But after that, I think we can play well,” he said. “We got lots of open shots that didn’t go in, and hopefully, it will all go down in our home floor.”