DOES Gilas Pilipinas still have anything left in the tank, both physically and emotionally, to topple world No. 10 Italy in their final group-stage game in the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup on Tuesday night.
“Yeah, [but] we have to find a way to play 40 minutes of good basketball,” Reyes said during team practice at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
“In the first game [against Dominican Republic], we played 36 minutes [of good basketball], while in the second game [against Angola], we played 24 minutes. So maybe if we can put together 40 minutes…hindi natin nabubuo e.”
SPIN POV: Saan nagkulang ang Gilas?
Before an all-time high FIBA crowd of 38,115 on Friday at the Philippine Arena, Gilas carried a three-point lead into the final six finals against the Dominican Republic and NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns, only to wind up losing 87-81.
Two days later, Gilas sprinted to an 11-point lead early in the second quarter against Angola and Atlanta Hawks stalwart Bruno Fernando at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, but saw the advantage dissipate before halftime, losing, 80-70.
The blown opportunities and combined 16-point losing margin are what could come back to haunt the Philippine team if, as Reyes said, the Nationals fail to play “40 minutes of good basketball” against one of the world's best teams.
“Hopefully, we can put it together, that’s No. 1,” Reyes said. “Our goal since last night [Monday] is to get the players’ minds off all the pressure and expectation. Ang bigat kasi pareho e.
“We just want them to enjoy, remind them to just play their game. At this point, they really have to find their game talaga.”

Without exactly breaking down the Angola game, Reyes said he didn’t find Gilas Pilipinas’ overall defense wanting much.
“I don’t think you can ask anything more from the defense. I know we gave up a couple of open three-pointers yesterday, but in the end, [Angola] still shot below 30 percent sa three and below 40 percent overall.
"We still shot better than them. Maski ‘di tayo maka-shoot ng three-points, we still ended up shooting a better field goal percentage.”
COLUMN: Is it time for a major Gilas shake-up?
Angola went 9-of-31 beyond the arc; the Philippines 4-of-22, with Jordan Clarkson going 1-of-8. What really hurt Gilas Pilipinas, according to Reyes, was the Angolans’ power under the boards.
“Offensive rebounds talaga,” he said. “They had 20 offensive rebounds. Tayo naman we had 12, but they had more. So, in the end din, it’s just the inability to knock down the three. And in today’s game, gaano ka-importante yung three-point shot?”
Gilas needs to beat Italy by 12 points and hope that Angola loses to Dominican Republic to advance past the group stage, but Reyes said he is more concerned about the separate race for an Asian spot at the Paris Olympics.
"Actually, I’m not even thinking of that [the points needed in case of a tiebreak],” he said. “Ako, manalo lang [against Italy] kasi ang iniisip ko yung Olympics. We need to qualify to the Olympics.”
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