THE absence of prized big man Kai Sotto clearly took its toll on Gilas Pilipinas against Chinese Taipei yesterday.
Without the 7-foot-3 Sotto, his frontcourt partner AJ Edu, along with reigning eight-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo, tried with all their might to take the cudgels for the Philippine five in its opening match in the FIBA Asia Cup.
Their efforts were simply not enough and a blistering start by the Taiwanese spelled doom for the Filipino cagers.
“Obviously, a tough loss. I think we got punched early and we didn’t punch back and the coaches can, you know, give us all the schemes and prepare us all they can,” Edu said. “But I think, us guys on the court have to take responsibility as well.
“We just have to step up. I think it wasn’t a thing of underestimating them,” he added.
Gilas absorbed a stinging 85-93 loss to Chinese Taipei in Group D play at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The 6-foot-10 Edu tallied eight points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Gilas but 7-foot Brandon Gilbeck feasted inside the paint with 16 markers and nine boards for Chinese Taipei.
Fajardo groped for form with only two points on two fouls and three turnovers.
For Edu, they knew their 84-91 loss to the same foes in their last meeting in the qualifiers early this year was no fluke—they just did not step up.
“We knew how good they were coming into this game,” he said. “It’s just on us as players to step up, knowing how good they are.”
