Back in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship here in Manila, Gilas Pilipinas was heavily favored to reign victorious over Chinese Taipei, who were then bannered by naturalized center Quincy Davis and star Lin Chih-chieh.
But it didn’t happen.
“Against Taipei, ine-expect natin na kaya nating talunin.
“But we lost that game because they played well. They came prepared,” recalled LA Tenorio, who was a part of that Gilas team that absorbed a 79-84 loss to the Taiwanese.
Five years later – at the very same venue, is the Mall of Asia Arena – Gilas suffered another heartbreak.
The Filipinos were expected to put out a dominant showing against Kazakhstan in their FIBA World Cup Qualifiers clash, owing to the 37-point win they had in the Asian Games last August. But unfortunately, it didn’t materialize.
For Tenorio, Friday night’s loss might just be the wake-up call for this current batch of flagbearers, just like what happened to them in 2013 – Gilas won their next games en route to the silver medal and a trip to the 2014 World Cup.
“Katulad ng sinabi ni Gabe [Norwood] kanina, last time na may painful loss dito sa national team natin dito sa [MoA] was against Taipei. After that, what happened? It became our wake-up call. Mas naging focused kami,” he said.
“And we made it to the World Cup.”
A daunting task is on the horizon for Gilas, however. They will face Iran – the team that beat them in 2013’s gold medal match – on Monday. But the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel floor general is simply hoping for the best.
“Yun lang, we cannot afford [to lose]. Yung margin of error namin is lumiliit. But we still have a chance,” the 34-year-old said.
“This time around, siguro sana yun din maging result sa remaining games and we can win at least two of three para World Cup ulit. We focus first on Monday, then we’ll see what’s gonna happen sa next window.”
