Another game, another reality check for Gilas Pilipinas.
On Monday, the Philippines got waylaid by Serbia, 67-126, suffering yet another harsh beating in the 2019 FIBA World Cup at the GBA International Sports and Cultural Arena in Foshan, China.
Coach Yeng Guiao simply conceded to the gold medal favorites.
“Serbia is just too big, too good,” said the straightforward mentor moments after the loss. “I feel like they have a really good chance against the US (United States) and any of the top teams.
“They were just too good for us at this point.”
Two games into the global basketball meet, and teams are blowing Gilas away. For Guiao, these losses have made him and the team realize that the world stage really is a different animal.
“We’ve been playing Asian level basketball. We’ve been competing. But of course, the world level is different – several notches different,” said Guiao, a first-timer in the World Cup.
“The expectations are different. When you get to the World Cup – or maybe the Olympics – the competition is just different. Totally different than the Asian level.”
So for the decorated PBA coach, his solution for the Filipino dribblers to be able to compete against the world’s best is to have them get much-needed exposure at such level.
And they definitely need it now, especially with the Philippines co-hosting the 2023 edition of the World Cup together with Japan – which is currently in the meet – and Indonesia.
“We need certain types of players, we need exposure to the level of play. So these are the things that I guess we need to work on,” said Guiao, who returned to the national team last year.
“And it’s always long-term. I don’t think there’s any short-term solution to that,” the 60-year-old bench strategist added.
“We don’t get to the World Cup too often, but of course we got here the last time. And we’ll get there the next time because it’s going to be in Manila.”
