"I like the way they move and shoot," noted Pecile. "Maybe, that’s why I played so well against them. They’re exciting to watch."
An error in Pecile’s bio-sheet threw off Filipino scouts because he was listed to be 31 years old and the team’s senior statesman. Pecile laughed off the mistake and said he’s 22. "Do I look like I’m 31?" he chuckled.
Pecile is easily the most popular star in the Italian squad. He’s mobbed by fans for autographs before and after a game. For good reason. Pecile makes things happen. He’s a deadshot from outside. He’s a daring penetrator. He plays fearless defense. He’s an unselfish passer. And he’s got the looks of a matinee idol.
"I guess the fans like me because I’m friendly," said the 6-1, 150-pound Pecile whose offcourt trademark is a bandana on his head. "I’m the smallest guy on the national team but when I play, I try to be the tallest guy on the court."
It was Pecile who noticed that the Filipinos hadn’t played long as a unit. "I saw that in our first game because they didn’t seem to know how to play as a team," said Pecile who speaks perfect English because he went to a British school for 11 years. "It looked like they were stars picked from different teams and brought together to play here. But in our second game, they played so much better. They killed us off the boards in the first quarter. That blond guy (Asi Taulava) gave us plenty of trouble."
Taulava scored 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in Tuesday’s contest.
Italian team director Dino Meneghin said for the Philippines to beat China in Busan, the Filipinos must toughen up physically and mentally. "They can’t be tentative," continued Meneghin who played 28 years in the Italian league until his retirement in 1994 at the age of 44. "They shouldn’t be afraid of any team. There are three things important in basketball–the mind, the body, and the heart."
In 1978, Meneghin saw action for the Italian squad that lost an 86-85 overtime heartbreaker to Brazil on Marcel DeSouza’s midcourt buzzer beater at the World Championships in Manila. The loss robbed Italy of the bronze medal.
"I remember Manila, the beautiful Filipino people, and the tourist spots like the Pagsanjan Falls," said Meneghin, a four-time Olympian. "The pictures of my trip to Manila are still in my album. I remember (Robert) Jaworski, such a great player, a great shooter. In Italy, my Filipino friends still talk about him. I was told he’s now a Senator. It makes me so proud to know that a basketball player has done well for himself."
Meneghin singled out Taulava and Danny Seigle as Filipinos who could play in Italy as imports. "I think the Milan team could use a player like either the blond guy (Taulava) or the bald guy (Seigle) because they don’t only play well, they could also bring in the Filipino fans," he mused.
From what he observed, Meneghin said the Filipinos must work harder on defense which he described as "soft." In his playing career, Meneghin was known as a hard-nosed, rugged, and physical defender who never backed down from a challenge.