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    Chot still wonders what Gilas could've done better in close losses at 2014 World Cup

    Former PH team coach still in pain for Gilas' 2014 World Cup collapse
    Aug 12, 2020
    JJ Barea proved to be a pesky thorn for Gilas in its loss to Puerto Rico.
    PHOTO: Fiba.basketball

    GILAS Pilipinas has had its fair share of close shaves in the 2014 Fiba World Cup.

    But for coach Chot Reyes, the losses to Croatia, Argentina, and Puerto Rico were all equally painful.

    "I always look back at the endgame of Croatia, Argentina, and Puerto Rico where we had the chance to win," he told Coaches Unfiltered. "I always believe that as coaches, our job is to get our players good shots because making the shots, that’s the job of the players."

    To Reyes, had the coaches garnered enough experience for gutwrenching affairs in the international stage, it would have been very much different.

    That's certainly not the case, with the Seville trip being Gilas' first foray in the global hoops conclave in 36 years.

    "Those are the things that I wish I could have done different, cause if I had more experience maybe I could have devised better plays or better strategies for the players," he said.

    Gilas impressed in its debut against Croatia, roaring back from a 57-49 third quarter deficit and tied the game at 71. The Filipinos had a shot at victory in regulation, but Jayson Castro was well defended by Krunoslav Simon, forcing him to pass the ball to Jeff Chan, who almost made a triple over the outstretched arms of Dario Saric and Bojan Bogdanovic.

    Philippines even held a 75-73 lead with 2:03 left in the game but lost grip of the game with Croatia scoring six crucial freebies in the endgame as Gabe Norwood, Ranidel de Ocampo, and Castro missed their shots late to settle with the 81-78 overtime loss.

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    It was more of the same in the game against Argentina, where Gilas took hold of a 10-point lead but once again floundered in the endgame.

    "In our game against Argentina, I wasn’t able to get a good shot for the team," Reyes rued.

    With 24.4 seconds remaining and Argentina holding an 83-81 lead, Castro's three was blocked by Marcos Mata with 12.7 ticks left and was called for travelling. Andres Nocioni made both of his ensuing free throws to seal off the 85-81 win.

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      "We wanted to run something for Jimmy (Alapag), but they covered him very well so we went to our backup, our breakdown which is of course put the ball with Jayson. He's the best point guard in Asia, but he was defended very well," Reyes reminisced. "Still, that’s on me, I could have devised something better to give Jayson a better chance, a better shot, a more open look."

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      In the game against Puerto Rico, it was JJ Barea who terrorized Gilas as the smallest man on the opposing side pumped 30 points in the affair, none bigger than the pull-up three with 2:10 left that tied the game at 70.

      "We were neck-and-neck with Puerto Rico and Barea was killing us, so I put Gabe on Barea and then we were three-points up, Barea crossed half-court and he pulls up and he makes that three pointer, that dagger," Reyes recalled.

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      "Of course, my instruction to Gabe was to guard the three-point line, to take away the three-point shot. Maybe I should have told him to start guarding Barea from the half court pa lang, wag mo nang patirahin yan. But you cannot blame Gabe because he had the three-point line covered and (Barea) pulled up way, way, way beyond the three-point line."

      Barea scored 10 of his team's last 12 points as he willed Puerto Rico to a 77-73 victory over the Philippines.

      As painful as those heartbreakers were, Gilas did find solace with the 81-79 overtime triumph over Senegal to bow out of the campaign with a win.

      Still, one can't fault Reyes for feeling the sting of those three defeats.

      "Like I said, my job is to get players good looks or better looks. Making the shot, that’s the players job and I’m the first to admit that I wasn’t able to get them those good shots, those good looks," he said.

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      "If I had a way to take it all back, then definitely maybe I would have done something different in those endgames."

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        JJ Barea proved to be a pesky thorn for Gilas in its loss to Puerto Rico.
        PHOTO: Fiba.basketball
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