PHILIPPINE men's basketball team coach Tim Cone tipped his hat to Brazil for playing with resiliency in the entire Olympic Qualifying Tournament, including in its 71-60 win over Gilas Pilipinas Saturday night that put an end to the country’s Cinderella run for the Paris Olympiad.
Cone was impressed with the way the Brazilians extricated themselves from trailing in all of their three matches leading up to the finals where they face either host country Latvia or Cameroon.
The veteran coach saw up close how the world no. 12 ranked team rallied back to overhaul a 12-point deficit against the Philippines behind a huge third quarter tear that turned the tide in favor of the South American country.
“They’re a good team. They played behind in all three games they played. They played behind against Montenegro, they played behind against Cameroon, and they played behind against us,” Cone noted about Brazil during the post-game presser at Arena Riga.
“And all three games, they came back. They came back from Cameroon from like 26 or 25 points.”
We Just Didn't Have The Answer
Handled by Aleksandar Petrovic, brother of the late NBA shooting guard Drazen, Brazil emerged as the top team in Group B after emerging with the biggest point differential after splitting it games against Montenegro, 80-72, and Cameroon, 74-77.
Gilas took charge in the opening half where it led by as many as 24-12 before settling to a 33-27 advantage at the break.
But Brazil refused to fold and came out a different team in the second half, opening the third quarter behind back-breaking runs of 14-0 and 17-2.
Entering the final quarter, the Brazilians had turn the game around, 51-39.
“So we knew they were going to come back,” admitted Cone. “But we just didn’t have the answer.”
The Gilas coach pinpointed that nightmare of a third quarter as the turning point of the semifinals game.
“I think going on a 12-0 or 14-0 run on us to start the third quarter was painful to watch,” said Cone.
“But there’s a reason Brazil is the 12th ranked team in the world and they proved it tonight.”
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