The Gilas Pilipinas process continues.
Chot Reyes is far from pushing the panic button. On the contrary, the national team tactician is happy with the kind of competition and the level of play handed to them in Europe.
“I’m just so happy that the two teams that we played so far really pressed us from end-to-end, from start to finish,” Reyes told One Sports’ Carlo Pamintuan on the heels of an 89-85 loss to Finland.
Reyes explained that the Gilas players “never get that kind of pressure, whether it’s in the PBA or Japan or [South] Korea, that kind of sustained, all-the-way kind of pressure.”
“No matter what we do, we cannot simulate that in practice. That’s why we’re playing these games.”
Going out of their comfort zone and putting up a competitive fight against European squads are some of the main goals of the training camp. These unusual and out-of-the-norm situations are expected to hardwire the Gilas Pilipinas into a squad worthy of competing against the world’s best.
“The kind of learning they’re getting, handling that kind of pressure, being able to pressure right back, those are the invaluable lessons,” Reyes said.
Of course, losing should never be celebrated, and “fans” are more than happy to throw Reyes their sarcastic “learning experience” jokes and mockery. But, really, the results of these tune-up games abroad—whether we like it or not—are part of the process.
“I’m happy with our effort. It’s not perfect, there’s still a lot of improvement, but I think it’s a very good first step.”
Now, onto the next step.