Gilas must make necessary adjustments to beat a well-rounded Italian squad.
Gilas Pilipinas has a chance to do something special when they take on world no. 10 Italy at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
While advancing to the next round of the FIBA World Cup requires layers of things to fall into place, just a win in and of itself can bring the Philippines to its Paris Olympics dreams.
With all these things at stake, perhaps Gilas can muster enough precision to finally get a win, even against the strong Azzurri.
How would that winning scenario look like? Here's how we visualize it:
1. 3-point shots falling
Gilas has just been unable to sink their shots from beyond the arc in their first two matches.
They shot 33.3% from three-point land against the Dominican Republic and 18.2% versus Angola. Those numbers are simply unacceptable if Gilas wants to beat some of the best teams in the world.
If Gilas can knock down more threes, that will give more space for their bigs and Jordan Clarkson to attack the basket at will.
2. Ball movement
One of the top complaints of Gilas fans is the team’s lack of ball movement in matches.
Simply put, Gilas will need to do way more than just give the ball to guys like Jordan Clarkson and Dwight Ramos and hope that they can create for the team.
Against a tough team like Italy, Gilas will need to share the rock, rattle the defense, and grab easy points.
3. Rebound, rebound, and rebound
The national five gave up 17 offensive rebounds in the match versus Dominican Republic. They even managed to perform worse in this aspect against Angola, surrendering 20 offensive boards.
Gilas simply cannot allow their opponents to grab that many boards that usually translates into second-chance buckets.
Whether its gang rebounding or being near-perfect in boxing out opponents, the national team will need to limit Italy’s chances in the boards.
A 12-point victory is the goal for Gilas, but a win in itself will be a big morale boost for the country.
(GM)