MANILA, Philippines – After watching Gilas Pilipinas fall to little-known Palestine, former Olympian Jimmy Mariano felt national coach Tab Baldwin will have to make some adjustments as the team plots to bounce back against Hong Kong on Thursday.
Mariano, a noted gunner during his heydays, said Gilas could have averted the shocking 73-75 loss to Palestine if Baldwin decided to stick to a particular combination of players on the floor in the second half.
“Kailangan baguhin ni Baldwin yung istilo niya. Hindi puwedeng gamitin lahat yung players. Siguro mga 8 or 9 (players) lang ang gamitin niya kasi kung minsan, may player siyang matagal mag-init at meron namang players din na pinagtatagal sa loob na di nagde-deliver,” Mariano told Philstar.com on Wednesday, shortly after watching the Fiba-Asia game between Gilas and Palestine on television.
The 74-year-old Mariano said he’s not prescribing Baldwin to use the same nine players during the tournament since every game offers a different matchup.
“Hindi ko sinabi na you have to stick to just nine players. But in other words, every game, you have nine players na different (combination). Ang kailangan niya (Baldwin), yung players na panlaban talaga,” stressed Mariano.
“Hinayang na hinayang lang ako sa laro kasi lamang tayo eh. Dala kasi yun ng rotation ang bilis.”
The 6-foot-4 Mariano also said with the way we lost the rebounding department to the scrappy Palestinians, 53-58, Gilas’ front court led by naturalized player Andray Blatche will have to be the aggressors heading to their game against Hong Kong.
“Hindi sila agresibo sa rebound even though ang average height natin is 6-4,” he said.
However, Mariano is confident that Gilas can bounce back, as long as the players maintain their physical and mental toughness in the tournament, which gives an automatic Olympic slot to the champion.
“Malayo na narating ng Pilipinas pero kailangan, handa lang sila (Gilas players) sa enforcers na ginagamit ng ibang bansa para painitin ang ulo natin,” explained Mariano.
A left-handed player, Mariano played in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico and the 1972 edition in Munich, Germany, where he served as the country’s flag bearer.
The Philippines, which was also bannered by Bogs Adornado, Danny Florencio, Rosalio Martirez, Tembong Melencio, Ed Ocampo and Freddie Webb, placed 13th in the 1972 Munich Games.
The Munich Games was the last time the country participated in the Olympics.