Gilas’ Fiba OQT stint signals return of PH as serious global force

Gilas Pilipinas certainly made heads turn in Latvia. — PHOTOS FROM FIBA.COM

Gilas Pilipinas may have lost its all-important match against Brazil in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Latvia on Saturday, but the National Five, however, can now boast of something Philippine basketball wasn’t able to speak of for decades.

After a masterful conquest of world No. 6 Latvia on its home turf and a pair of plucky stands against the Georgian and Brazilian national sides backstopped by NBA-caliber talent, Gilas Pilipinas—years written off as a doormat on the global stage—proved that it belongs.

“It’s, kinda like a ‘now we know’ moment—[that] ‘Now, we know we can compete,’” national coach Tim Cone said on Saturday night, shortly after the 71-60 loss to the world No. 12 Cariocas who dashed Gilas’ dreams of returning to the Olympic Games in Paris.

READ: Gilas’ Olympic dream ends, bows out of Fiba OQT with loss to Brazil

Cone—like the millions following Gilas’ bid at home—would’ve wanted his crew to keep writing their improbable surprise story in Riga. But the Nationals had very few answers for the physical play of the enemy who also rediscovered their offensive groove just when the Filipinos lost theirs.

“They played us with a real physical brand of basketball,” he said of the South American powerhouse that advanced to face the Latvians in the finale on Sunday night.

“We were making tough shots in the first half and they were missing a lot of open shots. We knew that if we didn’t turn that around, it was going to get difficult for us in the second half,” Cone went on. “And we continued to [take] tough shots and they weren’t going in anymore. And then they started hitting open shots.

“I think we just kind of panicked a little bit. We started doing a lot of one-on-one, we weren’t moving the ball like we normally do. We just didn’t bring our best.”

Leaving a mark

The botched campaign will sting for a while for Gilas, but there is no denying the indelible mark left by the squad led by Justin Brownlee, June Mar Fajardo, Dwight Ramos, and Chris Newsome.

“Of course, we want to get to the Olympics. It was the ultimate goal,” Newsome said. “But again, this is another stepping stone for us as a program to try to improve and continue to get better. You know, there’s a lot of positives that you can take away from this trip, from this tournament.”

READ: Gilas’ Justin Brownlee savors first Fiba OQT experience

“[I’m] definitely not happy,” said Brownlee. “[I’m] grateful for the opportunity, though. It’s been an honor to come here, to this country, and be able to showcase Filipino basketball and I want to thank Latvia for that.”

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Al Panlilio, who was with the contingent throughout the tournament, was among those ecstatic to see how Cone’s intrepid charges fared in its first two outings. Expectedly, he was just as devastated to see the run end on Saturday.

But Panlilio, who knows a thing or two about fighting through adversity having conquered cancer himself, knows that Gilas’ latest setback could very well be a fortuitous setup for a comeback.

“Like in anything—like in life and the corporate world—you learn from adversity and hopefully come out stronger and better moving forward,” he told the Inquirer.

“We understood the goal and set our sights on it—making the Paris Olympics if we can. [The] longer term is to compete in the Fiba Asia Cup, come out as the top team, qualify for the World Cup in 2027, and be the best Asian team that also qualifies us to [the Los Angeles] Olympics.

“It’s a long-term plan we have embarked on. But each tournament is a building block to the next,” he added.