Gilas Pilipinas Basketball

So, it is done. After a promising start to the FIBA Asia Cup highlighted by a three-game sweep of the eliminations, Gilas Pilipinas finished with a resounding thud, finishing a dismal seventh. Here are seven takeaways from the debacle in Lebanon.

1. Gilas is way behind.
That swashbuckling 3-0 start, capped by a dramatic, down-the-wire stunner over China (albeit the watered down version), was all smokescreen as it obscured the harsh reality that this iteration of the national team is, in fact, way behind its rivals both from Asia, and more so, from Oceania. That harsh reality was none more evident than in the least three games: a complete, utter annihilation at the hands of the South Koreans; a shellacking from old man Fadi El-Khatib and his Cedars; and a rather disappointing saved-from-the-jaws-of-defeat win over the Jordanians.