It was as if a repeat of what transpired last Thursday took place on Monday.
Gilas Pilipinas had homecourt advantage on Monday evening as they hosted Qatar at a bared SMART Araneta Coliseum. But the edge wasn’t helping the Filipino dribblers, as they could not get their shots to fall early.
The way they were throwing bricks was reminiscent of what happened last Thursday versus Iran. As the dust settled at the Azadi Sports Complex, Gilas had lost, 73-81. But the worst part was that they only shot 25-of-65 from the field.
Thankfully, that didn’t happen again.
Gilas managed to overcome their lethargic start, surging in the third quarter to complete the comeback from 17 points down for a 92-81 victory to hike up their record to 5-3 in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Unlike versus Iran, where it was only Christian Standhardinger that scored in double figures, Gilas received plenty of help this time around. One of them had been Alex Cabagnot, who had 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
This, after finishing with only nine points and five assists against Iran.
“You know we just had to play our brand – Team Pilipinas brand of basketball,” the 35-year-old said. “So we pressured them, we created, we made the extra passes to our teammates.
“So God-willing, all those snippets, it worked out.”
Cabagnot has now tasted his first-ever win while wearing a Pilipinas jersey. The 35-year-old San Miguel Beermen star was ecstatic, and he hopes that he will be called up again in the next window two months from now.
“It felt good,” he beamed. “I’m not really into the destination, but our journey has begun. That’s not the only game.
“And hopefully I could be there for the next window. You know how it is naman, pero, I can’t control that.”
“I could only control what happened and I’m glad. And I’m fortunate to be with these guys and to be under coach Yeng Guiao” he admitted. “And also, to my superiors at San Miguel, thank you for allowing me to play for Team Pilipinas.”
