Can Philippines make it back to world stage? American coach Donte Hill of Vietnam thinks so

GILAS Pilipinas is just one win away from completing the first of the grueling steps in making it back to the world stage of basketball.

After notching its fifth straight win by hammering out a convincing victory over Vietnam, Gilas Pilipinas is just a win away from completing a sweep and a qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup, one of the determining events for those teams that will play in the six-window home and away tournament leading to the 2019 World Cup.

It will be a long journey for the Philippines, which is hard- pressed to win the SEABA to earn a seat in the FIBA Asia Cup and all our cagers need to do is to beat the only remaining team on our way — the up and coming Indonesia, which Gilas is battling as of press time.

But if Donte Lavar Hill, the American coach who is handling Vietnam now, the Philippines is capable of making its way back to the world stage just like it did four years ago.

“Of course, they’re looking at competing at a higher stage — the 2019 World Cup and the 2020 Olympics. Hopefully, what they kinda do is what they’re doing right now. They’re moving the ball well, they’re smarter and they open things up because they cannot play inside once they competed against American and European teams, these teams are most times bigger, stronger and faster. I like the direction of their basketball team,” Mr. Hill told BusinessWorld.

“I actually do like their chances of making it to the world level. If they play their cards right, they defend the ball, they have a chance.”

Mr. Hill is handling a Vietnam, a football nation, whose basketball program is making progress. The former coach of the Japanese team Tsukuba Robots and steered the Nang Da Dragons to the first ever championship in the Vietnamese Basketball League, believes the Philippines is heading towards the right direction of shooting for a possible berth in the World Games and the Olympics.

But that depends on how Gilas can maximize their strength and improve on the weakness department.

“I think it will come on the guard play. If they can knock down open shots, that would be the key. Where they will struggle is the three and four spots — their versatility. Those guys did a great job rebounding and defending, but they need to be stretch defenders as well. If they can do that and knock down open shots, I think they have a chance,” added Mr. Hill.

Mr. Hill is no stranger to Philippine basketball, keeping track of the team’s brand of play for over a decade now. He is impressed on how Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes runs the dribble-drive offense, which he has expounded since starting taking over as national team coach in 2007.

“I’ve been watching and keeping in contact on what visually they do. They do a good job on the dribble-drive. They’ve implemented it since 2007 and I know they’ve been doing that. I’m really impressed with their hunger. I’m really impressed with their intensity. They shoot the basketball really well.” —