Photo from Fiba.com
FOSHAN, China—The outside shots never fell at a consistent level for Gilas Pilipinas right to the very end of group play in the Fiba World Cup here, which ended with the most heartbreaking defeat Wednesday night for the Filipinos.
For a team that needed to hit the three-pointer at will to have a chance at decent results in this 32-nation tournament, Gilas never got it going, making just a total of 17 triples in three games.
“We’re still disappointed, but at the same time it’s a good feeling giving ourselves a chance to win in the endgame,” coach Yeng Guiao told reporters after an 84-81 overtime loss to Angola where the Filipinos shot a dismal 33% from the field.
“It’s still kind of frustrating because we still weren’t able to make our three-point shots,” he went on after his charges shot just 10-for-46 (14%) from that area, having five more attempts than two-pointers in an effort to free up the inside for Gilas’ big men.
“It still wasn’t enough for us to win the game—two or three more (conversions) would have been the difference in that game.”
In a 108-62 shellacking taken at the hands of Italy last Saturday, Gilas made just three triples—all of them during garbage time. On Monday, in a 59-point thumping taken at the hands of tournament favorite Serbia, the Filipinos made just four.
Guiao was forced to leave behind the best pure shooters in the PBA in Marcio Lassiter and Matthew Wright, who are both nursing injuries.
No one really stepped up—or was able to—in taking their place.