Baldwin breaks down Gilas loss to Greece

SEVILLE – Gilas coaching consultant Tab Baldwin yesterday singled out what the Philippines did and didn’t do well in losing an 82-70 verdict to Greece at the FIBA World Cup here. Baldwin, an American who transplanted to New Zealand in 1988 and is now a naturalized citizen with a Greek wife, said the Philippines’ defense was outstanding, particularly in the first half. On the downside, he said Gilas gave up too many useless fouls, resulting in a huge disparity in free throws.

Baldwin, 56, minced no words in breaking down Gilas’ performance. The stats proved him right. In the first quarter alone, the Philippines forced seven turnovers and in the second period, held Greece to just four points in the paint compared to 14 in the previous 10 minutes. Greece shot 39 percent from the field at the turn. As for the useless fouls, Gilas yielded 30 foul shots of which 21 were converted while the Philippines went 16-of-20 from the line.

Baldwin said head coach Chot Reyes entertained no notion of tanking to preserve Gilas’ energy for the games ahead. “This is the World Cup,” he said. “We know how tough it is for us to compete against the world’s best. But we’re in this to fight and try to win. We’re undersized. We’re not used to this level of competition. Yet our goal is to fight to win every game. We owe that to the Filipino people.”

Assistant coach Josh Reyes said the introduction of world-class competition is a daunting challenge. “Let’s face it, we’re used to playing against each other in the PBA for nearly the whole year,” he said. “This level of competition is something new to us. We haven’t participated in the World Cup in 36 years. But we’re battling. Nobody can tell us we don’t belong. If we get more exposed to this level of competition, we’ll get better and better and we’ll start winning more and more games and beating tougher opponents.”

Baldwin said Gilas is prepared to do whatever it takes to put an opponent out of its comfort zone. “We’ll try everything, defensive schemes, combinations, anything,” he said. “We’re playing against the world’s best teams. So whatever we do, like trap in the halfcourt or play match-up zone, the other team will adjust right away so we readjust. We’re difficult to scout because Chot likes to use different combinations but that’s our strength, too. The other teams are bigger and better than us individually so we’ve got to find ways to win by playing as a team.”

Gilas sharpshooter Jeff Chan blitzed Croatia with 17 points including 4-of-6 triples but Greece was prepared for the Rain Or Shine gunner. Chan was limited to only a single triple in five attempts. “They’re just too big,” said Chan, referring to the Greeks. “They don’t help so everyone stays with his man. If they switch, it doesn’t give us an advantage because they’re all big anyway. Sometimes, when they switch, they go zone.” Obviously, Chan has never been confronted with this kind of challenge. In one instance, a Greek defender blocked his three-point shot playing straight up defense.

“We’re improving every game, that’s what’s important,” said Baldwin. “Chot wants to keep it close every game so we get a chance to steal it in the end. We’ve just got to play more consistently.”

Gilas power forward Marc Pingris has been gaining a lot of media attention not only because of his rise from humble beginnings and his reconnection with his French father but also because of his strong inside play despite a size disadvantage. The Greek TV commentator said from what he’s read, Pingris is one of the most popular players in the Philippines. At the World Cup, Pingris has not ceased to amaze his bigger opponents by grabbing rebounds and scoring from short distance.

Against Croatia, Pingris had 10 points and four rebounds. Against Greece, he took over from Japeth Aguilar as starting power forward and collected seven points and six boards. Pingris said no matter the odds, the only thing on his mind is to fight for every possession. He’s getting inspiration from his wife Danica and their two kids who flew in from Manila last week. His father Jean Marc Sr., who lives in France, booked a home with a tennis court and swimming pool in Seville for 10 days to host Pingris’ family.

What has surprised Gilas’ early opponents is the Philippines’ high level of coaching ability and knowledge.  Croatia’s naturalized player Oliver Lafayette and Greek-American NBA guard Nick Calathes both said the Philippines’ coaching has been solid. Calathes, however, mentioned that in the Philippines game, there were a few cheap shots which he described as “dirty” but shrugged off the shenanigans. He didn’t comment about how the Greeks physically abused the smaller Filipinos.

“The Philippines is a tough team, for sure,” said Calathes who averaged 4.9 points for the Memphis Grizzlies as an NBA rookie last season. “We prepared for them. We knew what they’re capable of. They’re a very well-coached team. They play to their strengths which are quickness, outside shooting and of course, (Andray) Blatche. But we also play to our strength which is size. They gave us a fight, we expected that. We respect the Philippine game. We know how much Filipinos love basketball.”

 Reyes’ coaching staff is made up of assistants Joseph Uichico, Norman Black, Josh Reyes, Ryan Gregorio and Nash Racela with Baldwin and Nacho Lezcano as consultants. Lezcano, who is Spanish, piloted the Ivory Coast at the last FIBA African Championships.