CHICAGO - This was arguably the most egregious beating the Philippines has seen since our country surrendered Bataan to the Japanese forces at the height of World War II in 1942.
This time, in a different field of battle, Italy dealt us with a 46-point blowout followed by a 59-point coup de grace from Serbia. We gave up a total of 235 points as the Italians and Serbians shot a combined 87-of-131 from the field (66 percent) and 27-of-53 from long distance (50.9 percent).
The only defense, and certainly the toughest we saw, came from coach Yeng Guiao, who shielded Andray Blatche from blame and defended Paul Lee from accusations of "dirty play" following a minor scrap with a Serbian guard.
After a dismal game against Italy where he had more turnovers (9) than field goals made (6), Andray Blatche brandished another lowlight during the Serbia match by having as many fouls as points (5).
Blatche publicly "apologized" for not showing enough heart and energy during the Italy match. He did not tweet anything after the second tragedy. Just cricket silence, which is fine by me because 280 characters or less cannot possibly explain his lethargy and uselessness against the Serbians.
One angry SPIN.ph reader named Patrick Ruiz commented that the former NBA player "needs to pay back all the money that was spent on him. We deserve more from someone who is paid so much."
Sorry Patrick, but Blatche still gets paid for the unsatisfactory services he rendered. That's how basketball contracts work, unfortunately.
What you can advocate, however, is that Gilas reward CJ Perez for the exemplary show of skill and will that he displayed against both the Italians and Serbians. The 6-foot-2, 25-year old guard was easily the most efficient and productive player we had in these games.
Perez has scored 31 points on 13-of-23 shooting from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range. He also made 3-of-4 free throws while collecting two rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Honorable mention goes to June Mar Fajardo.
Despite a gimpy ankle and a punishing PBA schedule that saw him help San Miguel annex another title last month, the Cebuano giant has not disappeared like Blatche.
Fajardo has 17 points and 12 rebounds combined, connecting on 6-of-11 from the field.
DRUG-FREE. Despite FIBA's apparent doubts, which is clearly manifested in their not-so random testing on the high-leaping guard, I strongly believe that Kiefer Ravena is clean.
Kiefer is a good kid. He will never knowingly ingest an illegal substance. His talents are natural, not chemically-boosted.
Most importantly, Ravena's two-game output is anything but performance enhanced.
He has only 10 points to his famous name. He is 3-of-14 from the field and 1-of-9 from behind the arc.
Hopefully the legal substances he's taking - Gatorade and vitamins - will help improve his showing against Angola.
TRADING BARBS. I'm a big fan of coach Guiao, an admiration that darts as far back as the early 90s when I followed his brilliance as play caller for the then Swift Mighty Meaties
But if I'd have to take the side of Serbian coach Sasa Dordevic in their ongoing verbal exchange.
When Dordevic said Gilas was "missing quality" I think what he meant was quality in terms of Serbia's elite level.
No doubt, the Philippines is dominant in its region but we're just not quite ready to deal with the big boys. Reminds me of sprinter Lydia De Vega who ruled the SEA Games for years only to repeatedly fall short against the thoroughbreds outside our region.
Dordevic's comments were discouraging, even hurtful. However, I'd like to think his comments did not come from a place of malice.
But hey, we're Filipinos. We have a proven history of resilience and ability to rise from adversity.
We can take punishment.
We can handle the truth.
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