Injury after a nasty fall did not deter Gilas Pilipinas’ keeper Thirdy Ravena (right) against India. — FIBA.BASKETBALL PHOTO COURSE
Gilas Pilipinas needed some time to breathe, after a rough opening defeat put plans for the 2022 Fiba Asian Cup (International Basketball Federation) in serious difficulty.
Effective firing from Will Navarro and Thirdy Ravena plus contributions from the up and down formation allows the team to do just that.
“[This is] very important,” said national coach Chot Reyes shortly after India’s elimination, 101-59, on Friday at Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia. “No. 1, this takes us to the next stage, to have a chance to move forward. 2nd, this prepares us for New Zealand.”
The next stage will be knockout matches where the second and third placed teams in each group will compete for a place in the quarterfinals. That was one of Reyes’ stated goals when it came to the tournament — getting to the round of eight and trying to improve to seventh from the last time the event was held.
“We want to go into this game and make sure we get a better result than the last game. It’s number 1, to be able to play at our level, at a certain level,” Reyes said.
Navarro certainly turned his game on to a pinnacle, coming on from the bench and knocking out 18 points in six out of seven shots. He also achieved two or three times. Ravena added 17 points when shooting seven eight. He also had five rebounds and two steals as he showed no ill signs of the injury he suffered after falling face-first on the floor in Wednesday’s loss to Lebanon.
Gilas picked himself up from a slow start, where it was deadlocked at 13. Ravena hit a jumper to take a 7-0 lead to take a 21-13 lead to close the half.
“I have to admit that we started the game quite difficult. But the players were able to recover and I think we could put a lot of pressure on the other team,” Reyes said.
The Philippines will finish Group D with New Zealand at 9pm on Sunday (Manila time).
A defeat to New Zealand, a team that has crushed the Philippines in previous matches, could give Gilas a shot into a starting spot in the quarter-finals. It was a long shot, but something the Philippines were eager to do.
“New Zealand is going to be tough, but like I said to the players, this is what we live for,” Reyes said.
“It’s all just for moments like these. When you’re about to play a game, nobody expects you to win, all we can do is go out there, give it our best, give yourself a chance, give yourself a chance. And I always tell my players that in life, that’s all we ask for, right? That we get a shot… And as long as we have that shot, we’ll take it. We’d rather take that picture and miss it than not take it at all. So right there, beaters and all, haters and all, we’d rather shoot and miss than not shoot. “
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