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| Fonacier on fire in the 3rd |
And somehow, someway, we managed to blow it in a lengthy lull to start the 4th quarter. A lull that has been somewhat of a curse on this Gilas Pilipinas team which often leaves us to second-guess head coach Chot Reyes but then again he knows more about basketball then we do so we'll keep our "couch potato rants" under control.
After riding the hot shooting of Larry Fonacier in the 3rd quarter, everything fell apart for Gilas. The referees will find ways to impact the game for or against us. That's a given. It also helped that the Taiwanese are arguably the most skilled foul-baiting floppers this side of the world- arms flailing and all (we wonder if they got that from being a football country-- sorry, couldn't help it). So yeah, we fell apart. Gary David, Jayson Castro and Jeffrei Chan all playing together, all great scorers, but all one-on-one guys not one of which can really call a legit play without undermining the other.
So when those three couldn't hit squat in the 4th when the Taiwanese tightened up on defense, it allowed our opponents to come back into the game.
Did you really think that they weren't going to make any more threes after a torrid display in the 1st half? They mellowed down a bit in the 3rd, but those guys-- even their tall ones, are built to shoot from long range. Ours, well, we make them every now and then.
Fortunately, this game doesn't mean as much as we think it does. The loss simply made the road to the Medal rounds harder-- can't expect the title to be handed to us on a silver platter anyway.
Some observations and adjustments:
- Gary David needs to be taken off the starting unit because for his need for volume shots. He is the kind of scorer who plays the percentages no matter how streaky he gets. You can call us out and say he's a 50% shooter from the field, and we'd argue he took 20 shots to make 10.
- Gabe Norwood needs to play long minutes to get into a rhythm. He can do a lot of things for Gilas Pilipinas, and Coach Chot et. al. have taken notice of this simple fact. The pros outweigh the cons eventually, so just keep him in the game and part of the system.
- Larry Fonacier has been the biggest and most reliable guy on the roster so far, even before tonight's breakout game. He makes smart plays, clutch baskets and just has great basketball IQ.
- Jimmy Alapag is a true Pinoy hero.
Regroup and move on.
Buti nga. Ang dami dami kasing ang yayabang sa iba't ibang b-ball forum, even as far as calling taiwan the "B" word. It's time to get off our high horse. We'd beaten them several times in the past but they were all close games. Wala pa silang naturalized player noon. Ngayon meron na.
ReplyDeleteThe result - pinahiya nila ang Gilas on HOME SOIL. Fair and square. In the vernacular - nga nga.
Konting humuility lang sana. Problema inuna na naman ang yabang eh.
Sayang yung nilaro ni Larry. That platoon substitution at the start of the 4th quarter did them in. Hoy Gilas, the game ends after the last second of the 4th quarter. Hindi sa 3rd. Kung kelan nag-iinit at may positive chemistry on the floor, tsaka iuupo yung mga player.
ReplyDeleteTaiwan was a never a team to take lightly. Even during the past victories ng Philippines, they were always tough to beat. Kaya lang naman tayo nananalo noon kasi wala pa silang naturalised player noon ang Taipei. Yabang kasi ni coach, lumamang lang ng double digits nag petiks mode na sa 4th qtr.
Yabang kasi eh.
HATE TO SAY IT, 3 POSSESSION TINIRA NI DAVID BLANKO AMPUTA.
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