Gilas must-wins

Fans of the men’s national basketball team were naturally very disappointed when Gilas Pilipinas lost to New Zealand and Australia. A few bitter voices online even demanded major changes, which would disrupted the team’s continuity. But those games were not as critical as we thought. We will still have away games with those two countries. It’s the games we will play after which are critical.

“I don’t think you want to do too much change,” explains Gilas Pilipinas assistant coach Sean Chambers, an important part of the 1996 PBA Grand Slam champion Alaska Milkmen. “I don’t think you want to go away from the plan that Tim (Cone) has put in place in trying to build a core of guys that, every time they show up, it’s more like a team. And I believe in that 100 percent.”

In an interview with The STAR, assistant Chambers shared the team’s feelings of disappointment, too. The team’s “chill” guy explained that the Philippines is already through to the next round. It’s the succeeding stage of competition that will determine whether or not the Philippines may advance to the FIBA World Cup.

“Of course, we would have liked to win the game against New Zealand. Of course, we would have like to show better against Australia,” he admits. “But in the bigger picture, those games are not the important games. The important games are going to be the crossover games after we go visit them. When we go to play Iran, Iraq and maybe Syria, that’s our crossover. Those are the games that are the must-wins. And we match up much better against those teams.”

Chambers also lauded the performance of newcomers like Quentin Millora-Brown and Juan Gomez de Liaño, pointing out that this was the first major national team tournament for them, and sees vast potential for them moving forward. Sean was also assigned to the last FIBA draw, which left the other delegates confused, because, well, he didn’t exactly look the way they expected a Filipino delegate to look. Even more befuddling was the throng of Filipinos who waited for him and asked for photographs.

“During the draw, all the Asian countries were begging for us,” Chambers laughs. “Because of our fans. All the countries, whether they were Japan, Korea, Taiwan, they were all hoping we were gonna be in their pool. So when we got in with Australia and New Zealand, they were the happiest. And Guam. You saw the game against Guam. Sold out. When Guam played Australia and New Zealand, empty arena. Who cares?”

Gilas Pilipinas is looking forward to better showings and putting smiles back on the faces of their countrymen. It’s a small reward for the overseas Filipino workers who are aching for something to cheer about from back home.

“Our fans definitely travel well, they’re all over the world and they all follow the Gilas program,” he adds. “With that, it’s just an honor for me to be a part of it.”

Here’s looking forward to the next games.

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