Gilas is No Iran

Someone finally caught up with The Blur
(photo courtesy of Interaksyon.com)

With the FIBA Asia Group E top seed already secured (thanks to manna from heaven a.k.a. Qatar winning over Chinese Taipei, 71-68), Gilas Pilipinas only had to play up to its standards to dispose of an outmatched Hong Kong team that is already on its way out of the tournament.

Only it didn't.

True, Gilas still won 67-55, but not in the manner that everyone thought, hell, KNEW, they would. Here's a team (HK) that's being constantly blown out by their opponents since the start of the tournament. Now, we see them hauling down rebounds (Duncan Reid with 12 points and a game best 19 rebounds) and knocking uncontested three pointers to take early leads. To say that it was mind-boggling would be an understatement.

It was disgusting. Nerve-wracking. Humiliating. Annoying.

Despite what you hear about it not being much of a big deal, Gilas was clearly playing on the level of the competition. Guys were taking plays off, going one-on-one and not hustling on the floor. You could argue that they were being cautious since this game was something like the college varsity going up against the high school basketball club.

Still, consistency breeds excellence.

You take a look at the current FIBA Asia powerhouse Iran, and how they've been running right through the competition and playing solid basketball for the entirety of the game. If they can win by 90, then so be it. If the competition is weak, then that's their problem.

That's the Kobe mentality. The Michael Jordan approach. The USA Dream Team formula. The killer instinct to just win and beat your opponent to a pulp.

We won. Case closed. We get it.

But this is the 2nd time we've seen this kind of display from our National team.The first one against Saudi Arabia in which everyone tried to pacify us by saying "Saudi's quite good, et. al."

Going into the Quarterfinals, we pray that Gilas head coach Chot Reyes cracks the whip and puts Gilas in that "Iranian state of mind."

We "only" need three wins to the FIBA Asia crown. Two to get to the FIBA Worlds.

#LabanPilipinas