MIKE Nieto wasn't in the lineup for Gilas Pilipinas' game against Indonesia on Friday, but that doesn't mean he can't leave his imprint on the team.
The 6-foot-2 forward brought the Filipino core back to their senses with a halftime pep talk after a largely forgettable first half against Rajko Toroman's Indonesia side.
"Mike came in there and he really was our vocal leader. And he just talked to us and told us we need to settle down and play the right way, play how we're supposed to," shared Gilas guard Dwight Ramos.
That outspoken nature has been one of the intangibles which has made Nieto one of the most influential figures in the locker room for coach Tab Baldwin.
When Big Mike talks, the players listen.
Baldwin's halftime talk only reinforced what Nieto hammered down to his teammates.
"Coach Tab came in and said the same thing and I think that really stuck with us. So in the second half, we played a little bit better," reflected Ramos.
Gilas responded by breaking loose from a 35-31 count, using a 13-0 run to erect a 48-31 advantage on the way to a 76-51 victory over Timnas on Friday.
Ramos had a huge hand in the turnaround, doing it all with 10 points, 12 rebounds, three steals, and one assist to once again be the stabilizing force for the Philippines.
It was a character-building win, no question, with the Fil-Am slasher charging that sluggish start to growing pains for this youthful group.
"It wasn't our best," he admitted. "I think we just needed to focus more on our execution, and that's really what it was. We just really didn't execute our gameplan and the things we practiced on and that just showed how we struggled.
"But we started to get it back together and that's how we opened the game up for us."
Dwight Ramos: 'We got puso'
Now, Ramos can look past this game and turn his attention to Gilas' final assignment in the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers against Korea on Sunday.
And if their Wednesday's clash was any indication, this will be an all-out war.
"That game's gonna be a battle," said Ramos, bracing for a Korean side aching to redeem itself from the heartbreaking 81-78 defeat on Wednesday.
"I know they're gonna come out strong and show that our win is just a fluke. So we just have to prove to them and come out strong, that we're not something that could be taken lightly," he continued.
"We're young but we got that heart, that puso. I think that's what we have to show to them, to play at our hardest."
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
