Gilas Pilipinas sweeps 5th window
COACH Chot Reyes again paid tribute to Gilas Pilipinas’ resolute defense, while citing the unwavering support of the Filipino crowd from the playing venue, which inspired them to turn back the tough challenge of host Saudi Arabia, 76-63, in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah on Monday, November 14.
The rematch at Saudi Arabia’s home floor though did not come
that easy for the Philippines. Gilas opened the quarter shooting just 6-of-21 from the floor, which allowed the home team to force a 16-16 standoff.
But once Gilas started tightening its defensive screws and its shooters began to hit their stride, the Filipinos created the separation.
In fact, the turning point happened in the second half when resident shooter Roger Pogoy scattered 11 of his 13 points in the third canto.
The sweet-shooting former FEU Tamaraw buried three triples in that stretch, with his last giving Gilas a 50-34 lead with 4:34 remaining in the third period.
“We thought they (Saudis) played hard. They came in with a very good game plan and we expected it,” Reyes said during the post-game interview.
“We knew the high quality of this team so we had mentally prepared ourselves to struggle, especially coming from a very tough game in Jordan and a tough trip.”
But with the large Pinoy fans working in Jeddah coming in to support the national squad, the Filipinos got the much-needed confidence booster.
“Luckily, we stayed patient in our early struggle. We got a lot of energy from the crowd.
They really gave us a huge boost,” stressed the 59-year-old Reyes. “They just didn’t allow us to lose until we started hitting our stride, and we made shots in the third quarter.”
The win in Jeddah was far from the 84-46 demolition Gilas administered to the Saudis last August in Manila. Yet, the Filipinos, who didn’t have Utah Jazz star Jordan Clarkson this time around, relied on solid team defense to hold the Saudis to a paltry 29.5 percent shooting from the floor.
Saudi veterans Mathna Almarwani and Khalid M Abdel Gabar stood at the forefront of the home team after scoring 19 and 16 points, respectively. But the veteran duo combined to shoot just 12-of-33 from the field as they were obviously bothered by the national team’s defensive pressure.
Pogoy and Dwight Ramos led Gilas’ scoring attack with 13 points each, while young slotman Kai Sotto again made his presence felt on both ends of the floor, finishing with 11 points, nine rebounds and a game-high five shot blocks, providing the intimidating defense for the Philippines.
Reigning PBA MVP Scottie Thompson also continued his impressive all-around game, finishing with a near double-double of nine points and the same number of rebounds, along with three assists and two steals.
“Coming to this game, we know it’s gonna be a tough game against the Saudis,” shared Thompson, who was also instrumental in the Philippines’ 74-66 win over Jordan last Friday.
“In the first half, we were too excited. We had a lot of turnovers. But the good thing is we got to recover in the second half and pulled it (win) off.”
The Philippines completed a two-game sweep of its fifth window Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers and will be heading back to Manila with a 5-3 record in Group E.
Gilas will now focus on the sixth and final window in February 2023 where the Philippines plays home games against fourthwindow tormentor Lebanon and Jordan.