NATIONAL coach Tim Cone looked comfortable with Gilas Pilipinas’ new outfitter—a blue polo shirt with a tiny logo of the flag on the left sleeve last Monday night.
Unlike their decorated tactician, the Filipino cagers sank into the abyss early on against hot-shooting Macau— only to be saved by their trump card—their vaunted defense when it mattered most.
“We’re gonna give some nice things out there, make some nice passes, but what is gonna win for us is our defense. That’s where we gonna hang our hat on,” Cone said. “That’s what we’ve constantly talked about since we’ve been together and that’s why it’s so disappointing to go out and give up 63 points in the first half.
“But as disappointed as we are in that first half, I’m just really proud of the guys for flipping the script,” he added.
Cone spoke after his charges hammered out a 103-98 decision over the Black Bears in a send-off match before the FIBA Asia Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Philippine five, which leaves tonight for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, stared at a 21-point first-half deficit, no thanks to the visitors’ torrid outside shooting but Gilas turned the game around in the third quarter behind naturalized star Justin Brownlee, Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, and CJ Perez.
“They (Black Bears) surprised us by their ability to shoot the ball and we didn’t know their players. We never saw them really before so it was a shock and they came out with 12-for-17 from the three-point line in the first half,” Cone said. “But give credit to the guys. They made a decision at halftime. They came out and defended.
“We’re gonna make some nice plays, we’re gonna make some nice three-point shots. Dwight made his shots. Justin’s gonna do his thing.”
Fully healthy after a broken thumb injury, the 6-foot-5 Brownlee sizzled with 32 points on five three-pointers, to go with 15 rebounds, and five assists for Gilas in front of a good-sized and cheering Pinoy crowd while Ramos chimed in 19 markers, four boards, and six dimes.
Edu, Kevin Quiambao, and former PBA MVP Scottie Thompson also had 15, 14, and 10 points, respectively, for the Nationals, who are gearing up for the continental tilt set for Aug. 5 to 17.
Cone said Perez, who suited up despite coming off a Philippine Cup finals win with San Miguel Beer last Friday, was foremost among those who helped Gilas wake up from stupor.
“The great play of Justin, Dwight and AJ just carried us down the stretch and into the win. But, at halftime, we did not have much of a chance, right? So, again, you gotta give credit to the guys for really changing the whole tempo of the game there in the second half,” he said.
“CJ, I thought, was the catalyst there in the third quarter and imagine, he just came off a six-game series, a championship series, playoffs, long playoffs, had no rest, showed up last Sunday, and then he comes in and basically wins the game for us there in the third quarter. Gave us a chance at least to win.”
In the end, it was the Filipino cagers who got comfortable and jived that should serve as a big boost in their Asia Cup bid.
