34th Jones Cup: Gilas takes down Asian champs

KKS calls a ceasefire
on all "Norwood is soft" jokes
...for now :)

For only the nth time since the Iranians zoomed into the upper echelon of Asian basketball, Pilipinas was able to raise its hands in victory at game's end. It was ugly early; sluggish and brutal-- both teams recognizing what was at stake and not wanting to give any advantage thus milking the shot clock and causing some of the most amateur-ish (and botched) sets before turning the intensity up in the second half.

Like a box office title fight, both teams didn't play their cards outright. Iran was happy with feeding the ball down low and not really looking to work around the center with their guards who are truly Euro-league worthy (Nikkhah Barrami is a beast!) while Pilipinas' dreaded "dribble drive" offense was being held at bay for halfcourt sets. Though the first half ended locked at 33 a piece, the game was physical, competitive and highly entertaining. The referees were doing their part to mess up the game for both teams, calling the quickest three second violations you'll ever see on television and missing some chippy plays inside.


Though Pilipinas found itself with leads of two to five, the Iranians were always quick to counter and their big man was just beasting our Marcus Douthit down low with his height and heft advantage. Douthit, realizing the mismatch, was happy with just letting the Iranian bigs get their way in the first half not wanting to over extend himself and also get called for silly fouls.

Come second half, Pilipinas finally got itself going and L.A. Tenorio was doing his best Steve Nash impersonation-- continuously feeding Douthit the ball down low. The Iranians are big and quick, but the overall defense doesn't appear to be as sharp and focused as years back. Expect Tenorio's driving lanes to close once we're at the FIBA tournament and the 7"2 Haddadi suits up.

Another player who continues to impress is Gabe Norwood. The man is playing like an extra skinny LeBron James out there-- passing, shooting, barely turning the ball over and knowing when and where to pick his spots. It's almost like all the inconsistencies we've seen and expected of the guy (having seen him finish soft at the rim so many times in the PBA) have disappeared and we're being treated to the "real" Norwood. The one that was touted as Pilipinas basketball's "savior" when he was first brought in.

Norwood has been playing so well that okay, this writer will no longer call him out for being soft. Or a wuss. Or no better than Jason Webb at the PG spot. Let it be known from here on out that Norwood is "ok" with KKS. Seriously, dude's ballin' like crazy and having a "Cyrus Baguio" moment that we could only pray lasts until the FIBA tourneys (and after).

The ten point lead caught everyone by surprise. The run by the Iranians at the end-game was expected really, and when we were up by two and Jeffrei Chan uncharacteristically missed his second free throw which led to a three point buzzer-beating attempt by Iran? I was having a mini-seizure that stopped only when the shot was missed.

First Korea, now Iran? Bloody hell. The basketball gods have finally smiled upon little old Pilipinas.

Love him (or hate him), Coach Chot Reyes is doing a marvelous job together with his coaching staff. The rotations, the set plays-- and the man even dropped an F bomb on live Taiwanese television (which he laughingly explained to a referee was directed towards his players-- Hi Sol Mercado! WTF was that missed lay-up man?).

While Coach Rajko ran his plays and stuck with them for Gilas I, Coach Chot is adjusting on the fly. From man-to-man, constant switches and zone-- Coach Chot is pulling out all the stops to put his team on the position to win. The Yeng Guiao "hugot" philosophy has also been put on display a bit, this time with defender Mac Baracael who seems to be just what the doctor ordered versus the physical Iranian guards and forwards.

What the team lacks in cohesion, height and talent-- it makes up for with heart. That won't cut it come FIBA time, so the guys need to continue developing overall chemistry and learn each other's sweet spots on the floor fast.

The only flaw of this Gilas 2 squad is coming by way of Gary David. When his shots are not falling, his confidence goes down and he tends to carry it over on the defensive end. Though we won't question his heart or experience, it's tough to wait for David to wax hot when there's a kid right on the bench who is taller and could drill in threes just the same (no, we're not talking about Matt Rosser).

Only two games left, let's go! Laban Pilipinas!

Mas masarap sana kung nakasama sina Arwind Santos, James Yap, Mark Caguioa at Mark Pingris ano? Wala e. The Silent War.