GILAS PILIPINAS WINS OVER GUAM
- Syd Salazar
- 12 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Gilas Pilipinas flew to Guam with one clear goal: get the win, set the tone, and make the home rematch in the Philippines a stepping stone to another victory. Jericho Cruz exploded in the first quarter, and even though Guam tried to hang around, the Philippines eventually pulled away, finishing the job with a massive lead in front of a wild and very pro-Filipino crowd.
Honestly, Quentin Millora-Brown looks like a fantastic addition. And yes, RJ Abarrientos had a few miscues, but he wasn’t the liability some feared he’d be. I still don’t know if he was the better choice over Juan Gomez de Liano—I really wanted Juan GDL in this pool—but at the end of the day, we aren’t seeing what Tim Cone is seeing behind the scenes.
Gilas needs to sweep this window and try to catch Australia and New Zealand at their most vulnerable to strengthen our standing heading into the next leg. Hopefully, by then, Kai Sotto is back in the lineup. And no disrespect to Calvin Oftana, but he hasn’t been as effective in Gilas colors. If we’re pulling from TNT anyway, why not Jordan Heading? Or even Robert Bolick from NLEX—if he brings his current form to the international stage, he’d be a great add.
Japeth Aguilar might be turning into the Gilas version of Raymond Aguilar in these tournaments, but at least he understands his role and plays within it. Plus, I’m all for giving Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo minutes at the small forward spot. Meanwhile, Oftana either needs to bring his TNT-level game to Gilas or risk getting stuck in the same slot Jamie Malonzo once held—especially now that Malonzo seems to be on the outs with SMC after everything that happened.
At the end of the day, if you doubted Tim Cone, that’s fair. But he’s still going to school people because he knows exactly what fits in his system. Congrats to Gilas Pilipinas on the win—and here’s hoping we’re sharpening up enough to challenge the best teams in Oceania.
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