ALEX Cabagnot was left impressed by the discipline and outside shooting displayed by Gilas Pilipinas in its 74-64 drubbing of the Taiwan Mustangs on Monday night in their friendly at the Philsports Arena.
The veteran guard said the red-hot shooting of the national team obviously was the difference in the wire-to-wire win fashioned out by the Filipinos before some 5,000 home fans in the venue formerly known as ULTRA.
“They’re extremely well organized. Lights out shooters, you can’t leave them open. We tried to get close but they’re a very great spot-up shooters and creators. So kudos to them,” noted the 41-year-old Cabagnot.
“Hindi mo sila puwede maiwan kasi knockdown shooters sila. We were getting close kanina, tapos they hit two three-pointers in a row. So sabi ko, hala heto na ito. And alam mong pasok na pasok kasi they moved the ball so well. Guys that can shoot, it’s hard to defend.”
Cabagnot, a nine-time champion with San Miguel Beer, did his share for the visiting Taiwan side with 13 points on 2-of-3 shooting from three-point range, while adding seven rebounds, and four assists.
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But Gilas was obviously the better team that the 6-foot guard became a fan even more.
“I’m a fan. I watched that team, and now that I actually played against them, now I became more excited. Di ba 'pag nanonood lang tayo, di ba sasabihin mo uy magaling yan,” said Cabagnot, who played for Gilas during Yeng Guiao's time in charge.
“But when you’re actually playing against them and you’re running up and down the court, it’s like ang galing talaga nila. Mapi-feel mo 'yung camaraderie nila, 'yung teamwork nila, 'yung chemistry nila.”
And not to brag, but Cabagnot believes the Mustangs are no pushovers with 7-foot-6 Sam Deguara manning the frontcourt, and guard Oscar Lopez, a member of the Cambodia team that lost the gold medal to Gilas Pilipinas in last year’s Southeast Asian Games, taking care of the wings.
Lopez topscored with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Deguara had 13 rebounds and 10 points for the Mustangs, who are seeing action in The Asian Tournament.
'Nice sparring'
“We wanted to compete and we wanted to have a nice sparring,” said Cabagnot. “Good thing na pinili kami as sparring partner.”
“Fortunate na ganun lang yung lamang nila sa amin. And I hope we gave them a good tune-up. So sana nakatulong kami kahit papaano.”
Gilas Pilipinas used the tune-up as part of its last-minute preparation for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament set in Riga, Latvia next week.
The team leaves for Europe Tuesday night and will play a pair of friendlies against Turkey and Poland.
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