Gilas falls: Palestine deals day 1 shocker

Game today

9:30 a.m. – Philippines vs Hong Kong

CHANGSHA – Gilas Pilipinas ran into a seven-man Palestine squad formed two weeks ago and absorbed a 73-75 defeat in a stunning reversal that shocked the entire nation back home.

It was one decision that somehow set back the gameplan for a crack at an Olympic berth in Brazil and shook the team to its very core as the Nationals found themselves in a must-win situation not only to get into the knockout series but also to restore the faith of the fans.

Team Gilas now needs to hurdle Hong Kong today and Kuwait tomorrow in group eliminations to make it to the next round of the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship at the Changsha Social Work College Gymnasium here.

Jamal Abu Shamala, joining the Palestine team only two days ago, fired away two lethal three-pointers in the last two minutes, highlighting their stirring come-from-behind triumph in their FIBA Asia debut.

“Palestinian players are very young in basketball. They don’t get to play basketball very much. Opportunities to learn are very limited. They’re learning from the very low level. Good thing they have brave hearts, they work hard and they really want to learn. This one turns out well,” said Palestine coach Jerry Steele, a lawyer-basketball coach from Phoenix.

“This is a big mistake for our team, the coaching staff and all of us but fortunately we have a whole tournament to rectify that thing, fix it, get ourselves back where we belong, putting ourselves in position to move to the playoff round,” Gilas coach Tab Baldwin said.

A win over Hong Kong and another victory over Kuwait will still put Gilas Pilipinas in a good position in the next round of the prelims.

The Filipinos led by as many as 16 as they made mincemeat of Palestine with its man-to-man defense in the first half.

But they lost their composure as the Palestinians shifted to zone in the final half.

Shamala finished with game-highs of 26 points and 15 rebounds with center Sani Sakakini, point guard Imad Qahwash and Salim Sakakini the only other Palestinian players piling up points with at least 10.

“Maybe (they took us for granted). I don’t know now, but who got the win in the end. It’s us so that’s good for them,” said Sani Sakakini with a big smile on his face.

It’s a huge upset considering the Palestinians are not really into basketball – or any sport for that matter – because of all the tensions in their homeland.

“The situation in Palestine is not stable. So many Palestinians move with their families. We try to get them (potential players) but unfortunately we don’t have a professional league. We don’t have much attention in basketball and sports,” said Sakakini, the lone acknowledged Palestinian basketball pro, currently playing in the Chinese league.

“We prepared for this for two weeks although two players joined us just two days ago. I’m the only one playing abroad with all others doing this as a hobby. But we showed our people that we deserve to be here,” Sakakini also said.

Gilas coach Tab Baldwin rued they’d got beat by three players, pointing to Shamala, Qahwash and Sani Sakakini.

Baldwin said they didn’t relax or become complacent but just broke down at the finish, failing to get the rebound, defend and make the shots against Palestine’s zone defense.