From the FIBA website
I wrote, "Wins over."
It's such an understatement considering that 106 divided by 2 is 53 - which is the total score of Chinese Taipei in the rout.
Justin Brownlee went off with 26 points. With that said, Kai Sotto dictated the pace in the first half. Far from what we usually see from him, he was so relaxed under Tim Cone's guidance. I feel like it's the same thing as when Cone first got hold of Japeth Aguilar's talents in Ginebra.
Also, when was the last time Japeth had two dunks in consecutive possessions?
Kai Sotto dunked a lot of shots, and so did Brownlee, Japeth, and Dwight Ramos. There was even an instance in which Kevin Quiambao attempted a dunk from a Kai Sotto pass.
Wait. I forgot who passed that to Quiambao... but Kai unleashed his passing goodness in this game. In some ways, I think Kai Sotto should apply for the draft and whoever is the top pick had to trade the rights to Ginebra so that Cone could further hone his talents.
I know Japan finally won over China after an 88-year drought. I am happy with this development, mind you. With that said, I also saw a lot of their moves. Yes, Makoto Hiejima's stroke is still there, but I also saw a lot of Meneses-like dipsy-doos and penetrations these kids must have learned from our players.
I've said this in past blogs, but Japan and Korea are getting our players because of our basketball IQs.
Anyway, this is a good win for us since it's almost certain that we are going to the next leg. It's not that we have already qualified, but seeing how drubbed Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei are, it's certain that we can beat the odds - regardless of whether or not New Zealand is still the imposing force we all remembered.
Tim Cone made the squad confident. Yes, we still relied on Justin Brownlee, but we also have players who understand their roles and at the same time, aren't as gunshy as their former Gilas selves were. In terms of the Gilas program, the youth movement that had Sotto, Ramos, Quiambao, and Carl Tamayo are as of this moment, clicking. For some insane reason, Gilas has been checking out the midrange shots and I am loving this. Yes, these are low-percentage shots with low reward unlike if you just shoot it in the three-point area or just force your way to the ring, but at the moment, no one is really using this (no thanks to the current NBA "the farther the better" situation,) and we must exploit this.
Is it me or is Tim Cone attempting to bring back his old-school triangle offense?
Lastly, the only ones the team has at the moment are the injuries to June Mar Fajardo, AJ Edu, and Jamie Malonzo.
Do you consider this "drama?"
You can when you have to dig deep to find drama in their current situation because as seen with their first two assignments, they are enjoying their brand of basketball.
Here is the game summary of the Gilas Pilipinas versus Chinese Taipei match.