GILAS Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin wasn’t happy with the statement made by Korea coach Cho Sang Hyun that the Philippines’ dramatic win on Wednesday night was the result of a ‘lucky shot.’
Baldwin spoke online before reporters after Friday night’s 76-51 win over Indonesia and looked back to Cho’s comments after SJ Belangel's three-pointer at the buzzer lifted Gilas to an 81-78 win over the Koreans on Wednesday.
He made no effort to hide his anger.
“We’ve already read that the Korean coach felt that we were lucky to win the game," he said. "Frankly, I think that’s pretty rich of any coach to walk off a game in which you lose and to claim that it was good luck on the part of your opponent."
When asked about the shot, Cho, through an interpreter, said the breaks came the Philippines’ way in the final possession as it was able to convert despite being a contested shot.
“There is no space for taking a shot. It was a lucky shot. There was nothing we can do to fix it,” said Cho.
Incidentally, the two teams will meet again Korea on Sunday in the final day of the third window in what is expected to be an intense battle that was only fueled by Baldwin’s remarks.
Extra motivation for Gilas
Baldwin said he intends to use Cho’s statement to motivate his players for the grudge match.
“We would make sure that that is highlighted and I’m sure that will give our players a little bit of an extra incentive. I don’t expect that we will be going out there to make friends on Sunday,” said Baldwin.
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