Wellington Saints eye payback vs Gilas

MANILA, Philippines -- Wellington Saints playing coach Kevin Braswell is looking for some payback when they collide with Gilas Pilipinas on Saturday in the Masters Game Face-MVP Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Braswell did not play for the Saints during the two teams’ first meeting in the Jones Cup last week.

Although Wellington led by as much as 16 points, Gilas rode on the hot-shooting hands of Jayson Castro, Asi Taulava and Dondon Hontiveros in overtime to repulse Wellington, 92-88.

The 36-year-old Braswell said one characteristic that stood out for Gilas was the players’ passion for the game.

“No. 1, they (Gilas players) play with a lot of passion and heart. When I spoke to Tab (Baldwin) after the game, I told him I love (the way) a couple of players from that that team played,” Braswell said during Thursday’s press conference at the Holiday Inn, Ortigas, Pasig.

"And for us, we’re a team assembled just two days before the Jones Cup," he added.

"But we've improved a lot over  the course of last week, but you wanna get back at the team that beat you."

Defensively, the wide-bodied Saints coach said they can’t afford to be lackadaisical on defense, citing Gilas’ ability to run on open court and ride on the speed of first-time national players like Terrence Romeo and Calvin Abueva.

“I told my team we have to be great in our one-on-one defense because they all attack the rim, plus they share the ball very well and they have a lot of chemistry,” observed Braswell,  who won two New Zealand-NBL championships with the Southland Sharks in 2013 and 2015 in a distinguished professional cage career.

Formed only two weeks ago, Wellington guard Eric Devendorf believes they are a much better team heading into the MVP Cup after jelling together in the recent William Jones Cup in Taipei.

“We try to prepare as much as we could, but coach Kevin did a good job getting us together,” said the 28-year-old Devendorf, a member of the 2010 Wellington Saints team that won the New Zealand-NBL championship.