Gilas vows to fight against better, stronger Tall Blacks
Gilas Pilipinas is perhaps lacking in height and team chemistry but the nationals vowed to put up a better fight against the fancied New Zealand team when they dispute the second seed in Group D in the FIBA Asia Cup on Sunday, July 17 at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Both sporting an identical 1-1 record, the winner of the crucial 9 p.m. encounter will get the benefit of facing the less dangerous foe in the crossover qualifiers for the remaining quarterfinals seat.
The second seed team in Group D will face the third seed in Group C which can be either Kazakhstan or Syria while the third seed will take on the losing side in the match between Group C’s undefeated teams in Iran and Japan.
Gilas looks to take advantage of the opportunity although a tough Tall Blacks team serves as a huge road block in achieving its goal to reach at least the Top 8 of the tournament.
The national team has also been at the bitter end of their encounters in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers where the Kiwis dominated the Filipinos with a whopping 35.5 points average winning margin. It also hasn’t won a single game against New Zealand in the three times they met in FIBA-sanctioned tournaments.
“We know that New Zealand is a strong team but the one thing you can’t take away from these players is the fight in them. We have a deep level of fight in our hearts,” said Reyes.
“We know that we don’t have our best team and best players here but it’s not going to deter us and not stop us from playing at our best. That’s all we can do and ask for,” he added.
Although fielding an entirely different team from what they had in the World Cup qualifiers, the Tall Blacks remained formidable despite suffering a stinging 72-86 defeat at the hands of Lebanon last Friday.
“We know that New Zealand is going to be tough but this is what we live for. The hours of extra work, lifting weights, going two to three a days, it’s all for moments like this. When you are prepared to play a game no one expects you to win. All we can do is give ourselves a chance, a shot. In life, that’s all we ask for, get a shot. That’s why we love the game,” he added.
Out to lead the Filipinos is Thirdy Ravena, who, despite a bad fall in the loss to Lebanon, still managed to play and show the way for Gilas in the 101-59 drubbing of the Indians. Ravena finished wiith 17 points while Will Navarro and Ray Parks contributed 18 and 15, respectively.