Gilas Pilipinas Basketball

Gilas Pilipinas shooting guard Jordan Heading had mixed reactions regarding the national team’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament stint in Belgrade, Serbia.

Gilas fought valiantly and suffered only a close defeat to Serbia, 83-76 in a game where the squad showed tremendous grit. However, 24 hours later, the team had an embarrassing setback against the Dominican Republic, getting manhandled in the second half for a 94-67 beating.

Heading personally mentioned Gilas’ lethargic defense against the Dominican Republic, which they will have to avoid in further games to come in the future.

“They’re such a tough team. I don’t think we kept the ball in front like we needed to. They’re able to get to the paint and finish with ease or kick out and just hit open threes,” Heading said.

“Obviously, their shooting percentage was off the charts because they were just open shots. We’re not going to win ball games if we play defense like that, and we’re gonna have to learn from that and take it with us.”

The Dominican Republic had 23 fastbreak points, 11 offensive rebounds, and 49 points in the paint in the decisive win in which Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin described as disappointing and something the entire group is not proud of.

Watch: Gilas Pilipinas vs Dominican Republic OQT Highlights

Although coming into the tournament as a replacement for New Zealand, Gilas approached the back-to-back games with a serious mindset, as they are preparing for the FIBA Asia Cup in August.

“Obviously, our goal was to win games, but all in all, we wanted to compete and show we belong in the world stage,” Heading added.

The 6-foot-2 sharpshooter was a revelation himself, averaging 14.5 points in two outings while making four triples in each of the two matches, making good account of himself as Gilas’ primary gunner. “We still showed some fight. That’s one thing about Filipinos is they’re not going to be scared going up against anybody. We’ll play ball against anyone,” the Fil-Australian said.

Given that the Philippines also did not have wing man Dwight Ramos for the tournament due to a groin injury, Heading said the guards on the team, like SJ Belangel and RJ Abarrientos, had their own positive moments in the competition.

“I think the guards relatively stepped up alright without Dwight. He’s a guy that really settles our ship. He’s definitely a leader on our team, so we missed him,” he shared. “We stepped up okay, but I’m not saying we stepped up great because obviously, we’re pretty disappointed with tonight.”

Nevertheless, given the young average age of the nationals (22 years old) and a long-term goal of making the best possible roster for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Heading said taking lessons out of the experience is the only way to go from the OQT.

“We just wanted to come out and test ourselves; we had some success against Serbia, not the same tonight,” he concluded. “None of us has experienced this high-level of basketball yet, so obviously, we are going to take a lot of lessons with us.”

Written by Levi Verora Jr.
Photos from FIBA