MANILA, Philippines -- Alaska’s veteran gunner Dondon Hontiveros sees a lot of upside despite Gilas Pilipinas’ winless start in the 2015 Four Nations Toyota Cup in Tallin, Estonia.
The Filipinos opened their first match in their European trip with an 89-62 beating at the hands of a tall Netherlands side, before dropping a 90-80 defeat to Estonia.
But Hontiveros said said he’s happy to see younger players like Calvin Abueva and Terrence Romeo, both first-timers in the international games, adjust well to the physicality and calls in the tournament.
“I am impressed with these (Abueva and Romeo) guys. It’s good experience for them this early on how to adjust with the physicality and the calls,” Hontiveros told Philstar.com on Saturday.
“Coach Tab and his staff explained about it pero maganda pa rin na na-experience nila with the games and kaming mga veterans will just constantly remind them,” added the former standout from the University of Cebu.
Formed just three weeks ago, the Alaska shooting guard admitted the rejigged Gilas squad is still adjusting to the international style of play, while struggling to play team defense as well.
“We really need these kinds of games,” the 6-foot-2 Hontiveros said.
“It shows that we have to get better on recognizing the teams we will be facing, the player tendencies for us not to have too many breakdowns on defense and offensively, be able to take advantage of our strength,” he added.
The 38-year-old Cebuano hotshot only joined Gilas’ practice on Friday morning since hurting his calf last week.
He managed to play for a few minutes to get the feel of the game against the Estonians, who are using the four-nation meet to prepare for the EuroBasket.
A three-time PBA champion, Hontiveros hopes to cap his career with another stint with Gilas, having played for the national squad in 2002 in the Busan Asian Games as well as the 2009 and 2011 Fiba-Asia men’s championships held in Tianjin and Wuhan, China, respectively.
Gilas is using the Estonia trip as part of its preparation for the Fiba-Asia cage joust scheduled to start on Sept. 23 in Changsa-Hunan, China.