Chugging along and making progress.
Coach Chot Reyes and the rest of Gilas Pilipinas are facing a few hurdles a few weeks into the FIBA World Cup. There’s the health of Kai Sotto, the limited practice time with Jordan Clarkson, and choosing the final roster to represent the flag, among others.
Reyes, like any good coach, is not letting these concerns get in the way of fine-tuning the Xs and Os. For one, he has been teaching the prudent strategy to finish well and thus, stir up their offense.
In the ongoing Heyuan WUS International basketball Tournament in China, Coach Chot welcomes the progress they have been making—especially as they’ve been facing taller teams in Iran and Senegal.
“The pace and the space in our offense gives us a lot of opportunities, a lot of driving lanes, but the ability to finish is going to be crucial. We have to be continuously working on that. And today, I thought we had marked improvement,” Reyes said after Sunday’s win over Senegal.
Don’t get him wrong. The five-time PBA Coach of the Year knows they’re far from perfect in executing inside the paint, but he is confident they’re trending up.
“They (Senegal) still got a lot of blocked shots, but for us it’s fine. At least we are attacking and we’re taking shots, and we’re not turning the ball over,” Reyes explained. “Hopefully, little by little, players are going to adjust to it and they’re going to figure out ways to get their shots off against those tall and athletic help defenders.”
Gilas has one more assignment left in the pocket tilt. They’re slated to face Iran for the second and final time, and they look to take more strides.
Catch the matchup tonight, Monday, at 8 p.m. on One Sports.
(With reports from Carlo Pamintuan, One Sports)