Karl-Anthony Towns is an NBA franchise cornerstone for the Minnesota Timberwolves, a two-time All-NBA awardee, and a three-time NBA All-Star. He’s on a whole other level compared to his FIBA World Cup peers.
On Friday night against Gilas Pilipinas, Towns sought to prove just that, going aggressive at almost all times against the Gilas big men. Only that, making his mark in the offense didn’t come easy.
KAT shot a horrendous 5-of-16 from the field, good for 31% shooting. His coach, Nestor Garcia, thinks that Gilas’ AJ Edu, Japeth Aguilar, June Mar Fajardo, and Kai Sotto all had a part to play in that stat line.
“The big guys of the Philippines, I think they are very smart, especially they made too much effort trying to stop Karl Towns,” Garcia, who is also known as Coach Che, said.
Don’t get it wrong, though. Towns still had a good game, leading the team in scoring and rebounds with 26 and 10, towing Domicana to an 87-81 victory.
To get his points, Towns relied on his aggression that eventually led to free throws, where he shot an almost impeccable 15-of-16.
The Timberwolf big man had to find another way to score as the Filipino towers just won't give up the paint that easily.
“They play physical, they try to contain him, they deny,” Garcia elaborated further after being asked about the Filipino bigs.
Gilas lost, but it can be argued that Edu and co. held their own against an all-world talent. They did not finish the job, but they did get the respect of Che Garcia.