INDONESIA head coach Rajko Toroman certainly likes this version of Gilas Pilipinas better compared to the one which played in the Fiba World Cup last August.
Toroman’s team suffered a 97-70 loss to the Philippines in the semifinals match of the 30th Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball tournament on Monday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
But the Serbian mentor, who handled the first ever Gilas Pilipinas program nearly a decade ago, believes that this team is more formidable than the one which competed in China.
“I think they still have better chemistry than the team from World Cup and I think that this team is better than the team in the World Cup, despite that Blatche played in the World Cup,” Toroman said.
“You have some individual quality with Blatche, but they didn’t have chemistry. They didn’t play together. It was more individual play than the team play.”
For Toroman, what makes this team dangerous is that they do not rely on one man alone - compared to the Andray Blatche-centric squad that the team fielded a few months ago.
“Tactically, this team is much better. They have better chemistry, they have better size, they play for each other. You can see 31 assists, that means they share the ball, which is very important in modern basketball,” Toroman continued.
“They have individual quality but everybody is looking for the team. That’s a better team than the team which participated in the World Cup. They have experience.”
Another luxury that this team has is the availability of lights-out shooters like Matthew Wright and Marcio Lassiter.
In this game, the pair certainly made their presence felt - draining a combined five three pointers in the second half where they pulled away for good.
For as long as the pair continues to stay healthy, Toroman believes that Gilas will be a very tough team to beat.
“In the World Cup, Marcio, who is the great shooter and great defender, was not there. Matthew Wright was not there. For me that’s two of the best shooters in the PBA and best defender, they play on both sides of the court,” Toroman added.
“They missed them in the World Cup. I think that the Philippines in this moment is very, very strong.”
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