Gilas youth brigade arrives

MANILA, Philippines — As painful as that heartbreaker in Auckland was, Gilas Pilipinas could still find a positive takeaway moving forward.

The program’s investment on the youth brigade is starting to pay off.

And as early as now, Gilas’ young guns are ready to take charge under the bright lights.

“That’s how you evolve a team, right? You try to win with your veterans and you develop your young guys. Our young guys have been developing over the last year and a half. Every time they’ve come into a window, they’ve gotten better,” Gilas coach Tim Cone said.

With Justin Brownlee shut down by the rough-defending host New Zealand Tall Blacks yet again in the Nationals’ 102-106 double-overtime defeat in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, it was the youthful ones that did the heavy lifting.

Juan Gomez de Liaño, 26, and Kevin Quiambao, 25, shared top scoring honors with 23 each, while Dwight Ramos, 27, shot 18 and Carl Tamayo, 25, dropped 17 to compensate for Brownlee’s meager five-pointer. Though accounting for only six markers, RJ Abarrientos, 26, had 10 assists. Mike Phillips, 23, provided a bundle of energy and hustle plays in his two-point, three-rebound debut.

The young ones were mainly responsible for bringing Gilas back to life after falling behind by as many as 12 and giving the visiting squad opportunities to complete the steal, if not for the endgame miscues that doomed its bid.

“They have evolved along with the team. That was the vision from the very beginning when we put this team together. That they, at one point, would be the main guys,” said Cone.

“It may be coming a little more quickly than we thought, but they are certainly stepping up and playing at a much higher level than they were when they were first on the team. We’re real proud of those young guys for continuing to improve,” he added.

Gomez de Liaño, a late sub for the injured Scottie Thompson, typified the youngsters’ readiness to step up to the plate.

“Once I got the opportunity to play for Gilas, it was a no-brainer. I just gave my 100 percent and did whatever it takes to help my team win,” Gomez de Liaño, who hit a pair of clutch treys in regulation and the first overtime, said in an interview on One Sports.

“I’m grateful for the trust and hopefully tuloy-tuloy na ito.”

“As much as possible, kailangan naming tulungan si JB (Brownlee),” Quimbao said, for his part.

“Sobrang pagod na siya physically and mentally, kaya kailangan lang naming gawin ‘yung trabaho namin.”