Gilas head coach Chot Reyes, sweaty and all, held his head up high after their game against the Tall Blacks on Sunday.
And he tipped his hat to the 12 players who played for Gilas and the three reserves who helped them get by in this window.
Moreover, Gilas did not back down from the fight given to them by the visiting Kiwis.
“I was very proud of the effort of our guys. We played a tough team and we didn’t back down.
“We kept ourselves in the ball game until late in the third quarter but as I said, couldn’t ask for anything more from our players,” said Reyes as the game only got out of hand midway through the third canto. “I thought they came in and executed. Credit to New Zealand, they were able to pick apart our defensive schemes and that’s how it got reflected in the score of the ball game.”
Early in the game, the dynamic duo of Thirdy Ravena and Dwight Ramos kept the 33rd-ranked Gilas close with the world no. 27 team.
(C) Paul Ryan Tan/FIBA Asia
But even when the going got tough, Robert Bolick still carried the flag for the country, draining bombs after bombs despite the insurmountable lead.
The Pero Cameron-coached squad though was just too overwhelming for the team that only had 20 days to train.
“Well we talked about it and basketball is such a game that there’s going to be fouls that are going to be called or uncalled. But those are part of the game,” he said. “Still, I thought we had our chances and we didn’t lose the game because of the referees. We didn’t lose the game because of the officiating.
“We lost the game because New Zealand really defended us and played us very physically. It wasn’t about the officiating.”
Reyes is not blaming the short preparation time they had nor the limited options given to him for this roster.
After all, this game is something they had to experience heading into the final stretch of the World Cup buildups.
(C) Paul Ryan Tan/FIBA Asia
“Obviously, after every game, especially after a loss we always feel that we could’ve done a little bit better,” he said. “The preparation certainly is very crucial. Like today, we still have a lot of things that we have to work on. The players are not yet familiar with each other. And even me, this was my first time to ever coach Thirdy, Dwight, Ange [Kouame], and several others on the team.
“I think we will get better as time goes by but as he [Thirdy Ravena] said, there are certainly a lot of bright spots. There’s a lot of things to build on and we just have to be able to put in the work.”
With reports from Jeremy Chua
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All Group A games of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers will stream live on GigaPlay. Download it now on Android or IOS.
