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    Rajko Toroman admits being torn between Serbia, Gilas

    Serbian coach and former Gilas mentor calls PH team as his 'baby'
    Jul 1, 2021

    RAJKO Toroman was rooting for both Gilas Pilipinas and Serbia when the two clashed during Thursday’s Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade.

    Toroman described the situation to SPIN.ph via the Zoom In episode on Thursday as having to choose between two sandwiches that he loves. The Serbian coach followed the match through the live stats of the match.

    “I am from Serbia. I’m Serbian. But also, Gilas is, let’s say, my baby. I was supporting both teams. I’m happy whoever won the game. On one side, because I was part of Gilas. And on the other side, I was Serbian and I want to support my country,” said Toroman straight from Jakarta where he is coaching the Indonesian national squad.

    Rajko Toroman as Indonesia coach

    The 66-year-old Toroman is still endeared in the Philippines, having coached the original Smart Gilas national team from 2009 to 2011 that put the country back in the international stage. That is why Toroman was proud of the performance of the Gilas Pilipinas national squad that made its presence in the world stage again.

    Experience on the side of Serbia

    The Serbian coach admitted he didn’t expect Gilas to take the victory over Serbia backed by 7-foot-3 big man Boban Marjanovic and heady point guard Milos Teodosic even with the game being close because of its experience in these kinds of games.

    “I didn’t expect that they would win because the experience is on the side of Serbia. They are really experienced. The talent is on the side of Serbia. These guys have 100 [of] this kind of games, close games. This team [Philippines] they don’t have one. They don’t have enough experience to close the game the right way,” said Toroman.

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    But despite the inexperience factor, Toroman was also happy with how Gilas performed at a high level against a world-class opponent.

    “But to be in the game and breathing on the neck of Serbia all the time, I think that it [Gilas] must be a lot of quality, a lot of talent, lot of athletic possibility… Philippines was so competitive in this game,” Toroman said.

    “For me, it’s a big surprise. I didn’t expect that. Congratulations to Gilas,” Toroman added.

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