Two guards stepped up in different ways for Gilas Pilipinas on Sunday night — Juan Gomez De Liaño and Dwight Ramos.
For head coach Tim Cone, it was exactly what the team needed to secure a 68-56 victory over Iran.
Both backcourt stars scored 16 points, but the numbers alone do not tell the full story.
For Gomez De Liaño, it was a bounce-back performance after he was held scoreless on Friday.
More than that, it served as a breakout of sorts for the 5-foot-10 guard, who provided efficient scoring for Gilas Pilipinas and knocked down momentum-building shots while shooting 55-percent from the field.
Before the game against Iran, Gomez De Liaño had been averaging just over nine points per game throughout the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
“He was the guy that really stepped up for us in the guard position,” said Cone.
Gomez De Liaño did it in just 17 minutes of action, although Cone jokingly admitted that he would have liked to play the guard longer.
“I would’ve played him longer, but he kept getting tired,” quipped the Gilas coach.
“He was the one that had to chase that little guard around (Mobin Sheikhi); that’s what made him tired. That little guard was tireless.”
Guarding Sheikhi was no easy task, as the 5-foot-8 Iranian guard drilled five three-pointers and finished with a game-high 21 points. Regardless, the Converge guard could not have been prouder of how he and his teammates executed Cone’s “every possession counts” mentality.
“I’m happy. Came out with two Ws. I’m so happy for the guys; we played so hard. The entire coaching staff, our teammates. When it comes to FIBA games, every possession counts, and just as Coach Tim said, we’re just trying to value every possession, so I’m just glad we got the W,” said Gomez De Liaño.
The second guard Cone highlighted was Ramos, whom the coaching staff was not even sure would be able to play.
“He woke up with flu symptoms. We had to give him a drip to get him ready because he was just not feeling well at all. He was throwing up a little bit,” Cone shared.
Despite his condition, Ramos pulled down seven rebounds and recorded two steals while putting together a 16-point flu game.
“For him to come in and do the job the way that he did was awesome.”
Another important factor for Gomez De Liaño was the atmosphere inside the arena, with the Philippines playing in front of home crowds of more than 12,000 in both games. For the guard, the support from the fans provided extra motivation to break out and give those in attendance something to cheer about.
“It definitely added to the momentum for us, two home games, two wins,” he said.
“No better feeling than that; it’s so lovely, it’s an amazing atmosphere to play here at home.”
