Gilas Pilipinas didn’t get the win against Georgia, but by virtue of superior quotient, advanced to the FIBA OQT semifinals.
Zone defense is the first scheme casual Filipino basketball players learned from the streets. When the going gets tough and they needed a crucial stop, they turn to man-to-man defense.
It was the exact opposite for Gilas Pilipinas in their 96-94 loss to Georgia FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Thursday, July 4.
[RELATED STORY: FIBA OQT: Gilas succumbs to Georgia by just 2 points, advances to semis]
With nothing going their way against the Crusaders, Gilas coach Tim Cone did something he rarely does and instructed his players to switch to zone.
It worked wonders.
Gilas slowly chipped away at a 40-20 Georgia second period lead, tied things up in the third, and even had several chances of snatching the win and the top spot in Group A.
"It was like, 'let us go to zone.' I think that was the key move when we went to zone," said Cone when asked about what he told his players when they were staring at the 20-point deficit.
[ALSO READ: 'We already bought our tickets': Gilas coach Tim Cone bares team surprised with semis-clinching feat in FIBA OQT]
Cone admitted he is not exactly a fan of zone defense. But with a semifinal berth on the line and the Crusaders blowing by Gilas, he had no other recourse but to pull it from his holster.
"I'm not really a zone guy, but they were just eating us up individually, they were isolating us, blowing by us so we had to go to zone. And it worked. They struggled with it a little bit and we got some confidence and we just stuck with it the rest of the way," he said.
He was pleased with how his wards staged the spirited uprising although they ended up absorbing the loss.
"It's very rare for me but in this kind of situaton, in this kind of tournament, you do what you gotta do. So I was really pleased," he said.
"We didn't practice zone, we haven't practiced zone since we've been together. So for them to step in and play zone like that and be good it was amazing."
[ALSO READ: Winning loser: Takeaways from Gilas Pilipinas' FIBA OQT battle vs Georgia]
Now Cone and Gilas set their sights on Brazil when the two teams collide in the semifinals on Saturday, July 6. Tip off is at 8:30pm (Philippine time).
[ALSO READ: FIBA OQT: Kai Sotto a game time decision for Gilas in semis vs Brazil]