Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tab Baldwin is pleased with the way the Philippine national team performed offensively in its 93-77 rout of PBA squad Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Offensively, the flow is good. We shot a good percentage in the game,” Baldwin talked about Gilas’ MVP Cup opener, even citing Terrence Romeo’s efficiency.
“Terrence played well. He was efficient. He was creative. It was a good Terrence that we had tonight. Generally, offense flowed pretty well tonight.”
Gilas shot 56 percent from the field and assisted 24 of its 38 field goal makes. The team also posted a 56-34 advantage in points in the paint.
The team also had 6 more free throw attempts and 7 less turnovers than the reigning PBA Commissioner’s Cup champions.
Romeo finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and shot 7-for-11 from the field including 4-for-7 from three-point area.
The other aspect of the game Baldwin wants to improve even further is defense, as they allowed too many easy baskets early. But the team tightened it in the third where Gilas outscored Talk ‘N Text, 24-12.
“Our defensive intensity, it did not feel like it was international basketball to us. We shaped that a bit in the third quarter, we improved defensively,” he said.
Moving forward, Baldwin wants the Wellington Saints of New Zealand to push Gilas to a better level. The Philippines defeated the same club in the Jones Cup, 92-88 behind Dondon Hontiveros’ overtime explosion although the Gilas mentor wants to avoid a poor start.
“Hopefully tomorrow New Zealand will stiffen up [their defense]. New Zealand wants to win the tournament so we should get a tough contest tomorrow night,” Baldwin shared.
“Hopefully we play better earlier. We got down by 16 the last time and we had to fight our way back, which is good. That was a character test for us and it is going to happen again at some point. That experience was good for us but we don’t want that to happen again.”
And with Gilas eventually facing Asian giants, the match serves as a good simulation of what to expect in the FIBA Asia Championship.
The Saints destroyed Chinese Taipei, 108-80 in its MVP Cup debut. Bigs Ray Turner (25 points, 9 rebounds) and Bryan Davis (18 points, 8 rebounds) starred for the team while new addition Jameel Watkins provided spark off the bench (14 points, 13 rebounds).
“We had trouble with Bryan Davis the last time and now they have added Jameel Watkins so this is a big team. It simulates Iran a little bit and China because of the size and skilled point guard. It is the kind of test that we want, those type of games. But again we need to improve just the overall intensity and I feel we will.”
