THE worst-case scenario for Gilas Pilipinas happened in its 2019 Fiba Basketball World Cup opening match against Italy.
The Italians showed everyone why they're ranked No. 13 in the world as they picked the Filipinos apart with near-perfect execution and shooting en route to a statement 108-62 victory in front of President Rodrigo Duterte at the GBA Sports and Recreation Arena in Foshan, China.
Former NBA player Luigi Datome couldn't miss for 17 points and shared topscoring honors with Amedeo della Valle. Danilo Gallinari of the Oklahoma City Thunder had a cool 16 for the Azzuri, which saw all of its player but Awudu Abass contributing at least six markers.
Andray Blatche led Gilas with 15 points and 10 rebounds, but also typified his team's struggles with nine turnovers and a -39 plus/minus rating. CJ Perez had the same scoring output as Blatche, while June Mar Fajardo had to work extra hard for his nine points, six rebounds, and his squad's lone block.
Even Gilas coach Yeng Guiao admitted that the defeat was more of them messing up big time than the opponent being the better team: "We came to this game knowing we were the underdogs but we would've wanted to play it in a better way and even if we lost we would've wanted to play better."
It turned out to be the perfect storm for Italy, whose excellent game magnified how atrocious Gilas' performed individually and as a group.
Shooting
The Italians broke the game open with just three missed shots out of 18 attempts in the first quarter, as compared to Gilas only making four of 13. The starting unit of Gallinari, Datome, Marco Belinelli, Daniel Hackett, and Paul Biligha steered Italy to an early 37-8 advantage and never looked back.
The Azzuri made good use of their average length to shoot over smaller opposing guards like the 5'10" Mark Barroca and exposed the lumbering Blatche with their sneaky lateral quickness.
It seemed like Gilas didn't present any defensive challenge to Italy, which finished with an unbelievable 58.2 field-goal percentage (36/67) and 48.4 three-point clip (15/31). Gallinari made four from deep, while Datome and Della Valle had three each. The Italians' overall activity also produced 21 free-throw attempts (made 15).
In contrast, Gilas couldn't buy a bucket from long range, missing their first 17 three-point shots and ending with a measly three makes out of 23 tries for a forgettable 13 percent.
Designated gunners Paul Lee and Roger Pogoy combined for four missed attempts, while Blatche and Kiefer Ravena both went 1-5 from distance. Their collective blanks emphasized the need for true shooters Marcio Lassiter and Matthew Wright as well as a streaky scorer like Terrence Romeo.
Ravena, who made Gilas' first trey at the 7:02 mark of the fourth quarter, said, "The ring became smaller and smaller as the game went by. It was really one of our goals to focus on our shots when we made our preparation this morning, But it was just one of those nights for us."
If not for rookies Perez and Robert Bolick (6 pts 4-4 ft) still pushing when the game was already out of reach, who knows how more unpleasant the final score could've been.
Fajardo bricking three-straight freebies at one point epitomized the offensive nightmare that Gilas was in all game long.
Execution
The Italians' hot start and Gilas coming in cold was the story of the former's 29-point first-quarter lead, but a few other factors contributed to the early blowout.
Most of Gilas' eight turnovers in the first quarter were a result of Blatche trying to create a shot from the perimeter. Ravena and Perez also had three each, but theirs were understandable being primary ball handlers.
The PH team simply can't have its biggest dude playing streetball in an international game, where there's no room for error. An assist to turnover of 10:23 in 25 field goals just won't cut it against a squad that prides itself on ball movement, transition baskets, and defensive switching.
Guiao summed it up best when asked what went wrong with Gilas, "They (Italians) have the size with their guards that we didn't have and they had the quickness with their bigs which we didn't have. They moved the ball really well. Anywhere the ball landed was a threat. So we just had to keep recovering to whoever was going to catch that ball. On the other hand, they just kept switching us. Their guards could guard our bigs and their bigs can guard our guards."
One statistic defined the Azzuri's almost flawless game: 30 of their 39's field goals were assisted. They also only turned the ball over 13 times, which says a lot about the chemistry and importance of crisp execution in coach Meo Sachetti's fast-paced system. Despite being integrated into Italy's national team core just recently, NBA regulars Gallinari (4 ast, 0 TO) and Belinelli (9 pts, 4 ast, 2 steals) didn't look like they were unfamiliar with their teammates.
On the flipside, the Gilas mainstays weren't much of a help. The pair of 2014 World Cup returnees Gabe Norwood (0 pts, 0 stl, 0 blk) and Japeth Aguilar (2 pts, 4 rebs) had plus/minuses of -38 and -34, respectively. Safe to say Jayson Castro was sorely missed, particularly for his solid playmaking and shooting.
What now?
Gilas now has to surmount the impenetrable wall that is fourth-ranked Serbia, which destroyed Angola, 105-59, if it hopes to advance after that humiliating loss.
The Serbians have double the number of Italy's pros in All-NBA First Team member Nikola Jokic (19 pts, 6 ast, 5 reb, 3 3ptm), Bogdan Bogdanovic (game-high 26 pts, 5 3ptm), Boban Marjanovic (13 pts, 10 reb), Nemanja Bjelica (DNP). They clobbered the Angolans in rebounds (41-19), assists (32-7), and shooting percentages (65 percent in field goals, twos, and threes).
Whereas the Italians will use their speed and length to disrupt the opposition , the Orlovi will overwhelm them with sheer size and talent.
Mind you, Serbia isn't all about its NBA delegation. Point guard Stefan Jovic dished out nine assists, while center Nikola Milutinov had 14 markers. Marko Guduric, who recently signed with the Memphis Grizzlies, also had nine points on three treys. With the Serbians, you have to pick your poison: get killed by their skilled bigs or shooters.
Either way, Jokic's otherworldly passing ability is rubbing off on his teammates — four others had at least three dimes — and finding the open man has been mere child's play.
Gilas needs to do more than just play great out of the gate to have a fighting chance against the Orlovi. In the face of seven-footers, Gilas has to shift into high gear and maximize opportunities in transition.
Perez was the only one at full throttle versus Italy, and it translated into a couple of fastbreak conversions. In the event that the Pinoys keep firing blanks, they should make up for their sputtering offense with defensive rotations and team rebounding to at least keep the game close.
At the end of the day, Blatche as a better decision-maker and inside presence, sharper shooting from the rest of the boys, as well as timely stops — basically everything going their way — can still give Gilas a legitimate shot at shocking mighty Serbia and the basketball world.
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