IT’S not about who will be in the lineup for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 but more on how much time a Gilas Pilipinas team will be able to log in hundreds of hours of practice and tune-up games.
“We just really need more time to learn to play together,” Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes told BusinessMirror on Tuesday, the morning after the Philippines blasted away at Saudi Arabia, 84-46, for a much-needed victory following a string of stinging setbacks in the World Cup qualifiers and Fiba Asia Cup.
Reyes, always the object of criticism each time the national men’s team gets walloped—stressed Gilas remains a work in progress.
“What happened last week, our game against Lebanon, is just part of the process,” Reyes said. “We have to move on…we still have some plans right now.”
Gilas played an away game in Beirut last Friday and lost, 81-85. The country—as host with a world ranking of No. 34 is assured of participation in the World Cup—has won three and lost as many matches in the fourth window of the qualifiers.
Another that concerns Reyes is the team’s naturalized player for the qualifiers’ fifth window in November.
National Basketball Association (NBA) standout Jordan Clarkson was Gilas’s naturalized player in its last two games and did wonders in both. He averaged 25 points in both games—27 points, seven assists and six rebounds against the Lebanese and 23 points, six assists and five rebounds against the Saudis in front of a crowd of almost 20,000 at the MOA Arena.
The NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in the 2020-21 season, the Filipino-American Clarkson wowed the crowd, including President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., with spectacular plays as he played his first game on Philippine soil.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) has already succeeded in the naturalization of Ange Kouame, originally from Ivory Coast, but his availability remains in doubt. He remains eligible to play for the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
Reyes said the SBP has concrete plans on naturalizing more players but refused to identify them.
“I cannot discuss it right away, but everything is a work in progress after our games in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia,” Reyes said.
The SBP, meanwhile, praised the team for its victory over Saudi Arabia, but continued to admit that chemistry remains vital with the team.
While chemistry takes time to build, it clearly showed in this game [against Saudi Arabia] on our home court Gilas Pilipinas played as one team united,” the statement said. “Everyone contributed, inspired by the cheers of the packed crowd which included no less than our very own President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.”
“Credit to the players for their teamwork and selfless play. Credit for the entire coaching staff for their strategic adjuistments in preparation for this game. And credit to all our hardworking partners of SBP who have given their full support to the team,” the statement added.
Clarkson, meanwhile, told 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto to keep his NBA dream alive.
“Stay with it, I think he [Sotto] has a bright future in basketball because he’s still young so he needs to spend time with it,” Clarkson told reporters after the Philippines-Saudi Arabia game.
Sotto, the son of former 6-foot-7 pro player Ervin Sotto, had 16 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in that game. He had 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in the loss to Lebanon.
“He’s learning as he grows playing in Australia as a pro,” Clarkson said. “It’s sky’s the limit for Kai. I’m proud of him the first time I saw him.”
Image credits: fiba.com