CHICAGO - I hope this isn’t a portent of things to come.
At a deserted MOA Arena on Monday morning, the Gilas Pilipinas side for the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers was mowed down by the Asian Games pool.
It was so one-sided that the national squad trailed by as many as 18 points before letting off the gas pedal in the fourth quarter.
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NLEX star Robert Bolick gutted the Gilas defense like a fish, making the few observers in the gym wonder why he isn’t in the FIBA pool.
Sedrick Barefield proved unstoppable 1-on-1 while Zavier Lucero was a one-man checkpoint on defense.
ASIAD TEAM IS SCARY GOOD.
Hard to imagine how this crew can’t defend our Asians Games title.
Gilas, meanwhile, has some issues tocwork on before facing Jordan and Iran this coming weekend in the World Cup qualifiers.
“The offense isn’t as sharp without Justin Brownlee, a great facilitator and scorer,” a source said.
This means there is no one in the lineup that demands a double-team.
Kai Sotto hasn’t played organized basketball since March 29 in Japan and rust is leaking.
The 7-foot-3 center wasn’t slower than the second coming of Christ but he was not quicker than a miracle, either.
BIG DISADVANTAGE.
Gilas employed some “big-to-big action” involving Sotto and June Mar Fajardo, a tandem that had its moments.
But they got smoked on the open court.
Look, my sources told me that the game wasn’t exactly the tenacious take-no-prisoners approach but it wasn’t unserious, either.
Which was probably why coach Tim Cone was fuming.
Both teams play again at 11-30 a.m. on Tuesday.
Let’s see how it goes.
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