Just a sneak peek

POC secretary-general Patrick Gregorio was ecstatic over the way Gilas almost beat China in the Asian Games in Jakarta last Tuesday and called it a “sneak preview” of what to expect from the Philippine team in the next game against South Korea.

“Sept. 1 is the big day for Philippine basketball,” said Gregorio, referring to the schedule of the gold medal game. Obviously, Gregorio is optimistic that Gilas will not only eliminate South Korea in the quarterfinals but also Chinese-Taipei in the semifinals. South Korea was set to sweep its Group A assignments with a game against Thailand last night. It should’ve been a walk in the park for the Koreans who previously mangled host Indonesia, 104-65 and Mongolia, 108-73. Anchoring the South Korean charge is naturalized player and former PBA import Ricardo Ratliffe.

If the Philippines beats South Korea, it advances to the semifinals where the likely opponent will be Chinese-Taipei. In the other bracket, China and Iran are expected to slug it out for a ticket to the final. Two more wins will guarantee the Philippines a silver medal.

Gregorio said he spoke with Jordan Clarkson and his father Mike after the China game. This is what Clarkson said: “Thank you to everybody who prayed and cheered and sent good thoughts. I’m overwhelmed by the support from the country. We will all do better next time.” Clarkson’s father said: “We could’ve won this one. We will focus on the next game.”

But Gregorio said even as there was an air of optimism surrounding the Gilas loss, he didn’t want to take away the spotlight from weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz who came from a kilogram behind in the snatch to bag the gold with a two-kilogram edge in the clean and jerk in the 53-kilogram division. “Aug. 21 is dedicated to our Hidilyn,” said Gregorio. Diaz’ gold was the first for the Philippines in this year’s Asian Games.

Gregorio’s younger brother Ryan, meanwhile, said China didn’t do anything that Gilas didn’t expect. “Overall, we had a sound gameplan,” said Ryan, acting as chief scout and assistant coach. “We knew what they were going to do. We anticipated their tendencies on offense. We defended their guards well but in the end, it boiled down to their height and length (with 7-2 Zhou Qi and 7-0 Wang Zhelin) and the way the refs called fouls against us. It’s hard to defend a free throw shooter.”

Like coach Yeng Guiao, Ryan had something to say about Hong Kong crew chief Chun Yip Yuen. “I thought the Hong Kong referee was quite whistle-happy against us,” he said.  “I wondered, during the game, how can a Hong Kong native officiate a China game? Anyway, I may sound sour-graping but I thought a neutral referee must officiate critical games.”

Ryan said Clarkson was a revelation. “All the efforts (to bring him in) were worth it,” he said. “He just made our team a lot better. In the end, he was slowed down by cramps but it didn’t take any luster out of his performance. The gap between China and the Philippines has narrowed. The importance of scouting our opponents diligently has become our weapon. We scouted everything they did. Players have responded so well to coach Yeng’s coaching and I’m amazed as to how he has transformed a rag-tag team into a force to be reckoned with. Great command, awesome leadership, tremendous basketball mind.”

Ryan said the major take-away was the realization that the Philippines is now able to compete against “mighty” China. “The same kind of determination is necessary for us to beat South Korea,” he said. “With a little rest and more time to practice with JC, I’m certain that we can give the Koreans a tough fight. We’re in it for all the marbles.”

SBP president Al Panlilio said the journey to Jakarta has been incredible, going from withdrawing to returning to playing with Clarkson. “Circumstances had to happen this way and brought us to where we are today,” he said. “From a token team to a potential medal team. All these while keeping the values and principles we believe in at SBP.”