Cone. Photo by Ernie Sarmiento
Cone: Defense is the key
DEFENSE will be a big factor when Gilas Pilipinas takes on world No. 6 Latvia and No. 23 Georgia in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga starting July 4.
Gilas head coach Tim Cone said the Filipinos should put emphasis on defense when they take on the taller but quicker Latvians and Georgians, adding they need to make extra effort on every defensive possessions in order to compete against teams as talented as the European heavyweights
Although the Justin Brownlee-led Filipinos had their strong moments in back-to-back losses to Turkey and Poland in their friendly matches, Cone noted the team’s lack of defense.
“We look like an Asian team right now. We look more like a team to play in Asia than European right now. We haven’t looked like one all day, now that’s what we look like. That’s the way they expected us to play,” said Cone, who was even caught in the broadcast fuming about Gilas defense.
“If we play like this we’re not playing through it to win. We’re not even trying anymore,” Cone was quoted as saying.
“You got to play at this level fellas and that means get down on guys and take the extra effort. We’re not gonna make the extra effort we’re not stopping these guys. That’s what I’m talking about in terms of our,” he added.
Gilas Pilipinas team manager Richard Del Rosario was a little more optimistic.
“We were good against Turkey, we were better against Poland, but we have to be at our best from here on out. We need to limit our turnovers and get locked in defensively. It’s not just about competing, it’s all about winning,” said Del Rosario.
“All our focus will be on Latvia and Georgia. We will put them under the microscope and look for ways to win,” added Del Rosario.
Both Latvia and Georgia boast of NBA players in their rosters.
Davis Bertans, the 6-foot-10 power-forward of the Charlotte Hornets, will lead the charge for Latvia, which made a lot of heads turn in last year’s FIBA World Cup with upset wins over France, Brazil, and defending champion Spain.
But Kristaps Porzingis of newly-crowned NBA champion Boston Celtics is not in the line-up.
The7-2 Porzingis is out after undergoing post-season surgery.
Georgia on the other hand, will rely on the NBA pair of Goga Bitadze of the Orlando Magic and Alexander Mamukelashvili of the San Antonio Spurs.
Meanwhile, Kieffer Alas will be out of the Gilas Pilipinas roster for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 after he suffered a knee injury in the team’s last tuneup game against Canada.
Champ Arejola who has been practicing with the squad from the start will be taking Alas’ spot in the Final 12.
“On initial examination by our team doctor, he had a functionally stable knee and the official result of his MRI determined Kieffer has a sprained ACL,” said head coach Josh Reyes.
“His knee is swollen and he’ll be out for three weeks. We will be monitoring his situation closely.”
“It was unfortunate because we were playing really well against Canada in the first half.”
