Gilas Pilipinas Basketball

After both Serbia and Italy humiliated Gilas Pilipinas in back to back encounters to open the group stages of the 2019 FIBA World Cup, head coach Yeng Guiao pointed out the difference in competing in the Asian level and the international level.

Serbia beat Gilas, 126-67 two days after the Philippines absorbed a bitter 108-62 loss to the Italians. The nationals are now eliminated officially after the two losses, and shall play in the 17th to 32nd classification phase.

“We’ve been playing Asian level basketball and competing very well but of course, the World level is different,” Guiao said. “Several notches different.”

The Philippines were among the seven best Asian teams including Australia and New Zealand to qualify for the World Cup.

Guiao suggested having more exposure and getting players appropriate for the world level, but also noted it would take lots of time before reaching such level.

“We need certain types of players, we need the exposure to the level of play. These are the things we need to work on. It’s always long term. There’s no short term solution to that,” he said.

Pundits describe the past two losses as a step backward in Philippine hoops considering the country faired well in the 2014 edition of the international meet, losing to Croatia by only three, to Argentina by 4, and to Greece by just 12 points.

Watch: FIBA World Cup: Gilas Pilipinas vs Serbia Full Game Video

Although Serbia and Italy are much stronger teams given their FIBA world ranks and the Philippines aren’t in full strength owing to injuries and other circumstances, many still expected a more competitive showing from the Asian side.

“It’s a tough loss. We did our job just to keep the game close but I think Serbia is the number one team right now,” guard Paul Lee said.

Lee, who is in his second World Cup stint, dropped 15 points against Serbia.

“Coach told us just level our game; our goal this game was to level up our game compared to (Italy), the intensity on offense and defense. I think nakuha naman namin yon but Serbia is too much for us.”

Guiao also mentioned that expectations for the World Cup in terms of competition level and talent are different compared to the Asian Qualifiers.

“We don’t get to the World Cup that often. We got here the last time and the next time because it’s in Manila, but the expectations are different when you get to the World Cup or the Olympics. The competition is totally different,” he said.

Stakeholders of Philippine basketball will have four years to put up the most competitive team possible for the 2023 World Cup which the nation is co-hosting with Indonesia and Japan.

Written by Levi Verora, Jr.
Photos by Glenn Michael Tan