THE string of painful defeats exposed weaknesses as Team Pilipinas tries to qualify for the China 2019 Fiba World Cup.
What does the team needs? A go-to guy.
The national team was slammed hard in front of the hometown crowd after a 70-78 loss to Iran on Monday night at the Mall of Asia Arena. Three nights before, Kazakhstan dealt the Filipinos an 88-92 setback.
The losses drew a ton of doubts on the Philippine campaign, which is now down at fourth place on a 5-5 won-loss record.
Japan, which the country beat twice earlier in the qualifiers’ window, beat Kazakstan, 86-70, also on Monday to jump to third spot with a 6-4 card.
Team Pilipinas needs to win its remaining two games in the sixth window in February and hope that Japan split its assignments to avoid elimination. Only the top 3 teams from the two groups in Asia will advance to the World Cup.
Head Coach Yeng Guiao said he is considering to bring a familiar face to reinforce the team—Justin Brownlee.
“One option is to tap Brownlee. That’s an option we can consider. His papers are already in Congress. Maybe we can use him,” Guiao said.
Last August, 1Pacman Party-list Rep. Mikee Romero, along with three other representatives, filed a house bill that seeks to naturalize the Barangay Ginebra resident import.
Guiao has two other naturalized players at his disposal—Stanley Pringle and Christian Standhardinger.
“We are expanding our options and that is one immediate option we can exercise. We can choose depending on the needs and situations,” Guiao explained.
Against the two visitors, the national team longed for a player that has the nerves of steel to finish the game.
Brownlee, while playing for Barangay Ginebra, was the cornerstone of the team’s three crowns in three years in the Philippine Basketball Association. He once drilled a title-clinching triple against Meralco in the 2016 Governors’ Cup.
That makes the 6-foot-5 do-it-all player the most viable option.
In the fifth window of the Asian Qualifiers, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas chose not to tap 6-foot-11 Andray Blatche to pave the way for local talents.
The Philippines was in control after a Beau Belga three-pointer gave them a 60-52 lead with eight minutes left. But Iran made the big plays at crunch time.
Jayson Castro returned to action and topscored with 19 points, while Christian Standhardinger finished with 17 points for the Philippines.
Mohammad Jamshidi had 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting he laced with seven assists and four rebounds, while Behnam Yakhchali dropped 21 points with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Image credits: Fiba Photo