Chot rues Gilas being down early vs South Sudan as rally comes up short
MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes could not hide his disappointment over what turned out to be the worst game in their FIBA World Cup campaign.
The Philippines suffered its worst loss in the tournament at the hands of World Cup first timers South Sudan, 87-68, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Thursday night — its fourth in as many games.
At the post-game press conference, Reyes said that while the Filipinos stormed back in the fourth wherein they cut a 21-point lead to four, the huge deficit at the start of the game made it difficult to complete the rally.
“We played our worst game when it counted the most. That early burst by South Sudan… tremendous fightback by the guys, but we spent too much energy in trying to claw back and we didn’t have enough to finish it,” Reyes told reporters.
“But, that’s unfortunate that this was the time for us to shoot below 40% and we couldn’t make shots so I guess that’s the story,” he added.
Gilas’ loss and Japan’s come-from-behind win against Venezuela also on Thursday killed all hopes of the Philippines landing an outright berth to the Paris Olympics.
The best Asian finisher in the World Cup secures the lone Asian ticket to the Olympics next year.
Japan has won two games in the tournament, followed by China and Lebanon with one each.
“We knew that this was the game we absolutely had to win because somebody would get the wins that’s why I’m very, very disappointed,” the coach said.
“I am not surprised Japan won, that’s why I knew this was the game that we really, absolutely had to get. So, there goes our Olympic dreams, for now, for this World Cup,” he added.
AJ Edu, who played great in the South Sudan game with a double-double of 12 points and 14 boards, said that while the loss was “tough,” he is proud of the guys.
“We have to keep our heads up because we still have one more game,” the 6-foot-10 big man said.
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