2014 FIBA World Cup: Greece (5) vs Philippines (34) IR

Release. The Kraken.
(Photo courtesy of FIBA.com)

If one were to look at the final score of 82-70 alone and not be familiar with all things 2014 FIBA World Cup, you'd think that the teams that were duking it out weren't ranked far from one another internationally.

Well Greece is currently ranked 5th in the whole basketball world while the Philippines, our team, is ranked 34th. Yet we managed to lose by "only" 12 points to one of the recognized European basketball powerhouses despite having to deal with height disadvantages and in-game injuries. As with the game against Croatia, here are a few things that we've picked up on which we hope Gilas could either build on or shy away from in their next three matches.

Positive:
- Andray Blatche hobbled his way to finish with 21 points, 14 rebounds and 3 rebounds and shied away from playing iso-Blatche early. This allowed the team to get comfortable on the floor and take responsibility on both offense and defense.