FORMER PBA commissioner Noli Eala's tweets typified the wide range of emotions that fans felt in the fallout of Gilas Pilipinas Youth's sorry exit from the 2022 Fiba Under-18 Asian Championship in Tehran.
Optimistic yet cautious at first, the broadcaster turned league executive turned dire in a jiffy as the Filipinos fell behind early and failed to contain the hot shooting of the Cedars that culminated in a 99-83 defeat.
[READ: Gilas Youth crashes out after running into hot-shooting Lebanon]
The writing should have been on the wall, with the Philippines under coach Josh Reyes playing in just less than 24 hours since it topped Chinese Taipei, 84-73, while Lebanon enjoying a day off.
And then, the threes just rained down on the Philippines.
Lebanon, which shot a tournament-worst 15.6-percent in the group stages, suddenly went bonkers from deep and drained seven treys in the first half alone to take a 27-11 lead to end the first quarter and enjoy a 52-27 edge late in the second period.
By then, Eala, who for a time served as executive director of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), was losing his patience.
Eala also questioned the strategy of Reyes to focus on the paint and in doing so, daring Lebanon to shoot from the outside - one that the Cedars were happy to pounce on.
And how did it end? Well, Lebanon just made 17 of its 30 three-point shots -- a mercurial 56.7-percent from deep that ultimately gave the Philippines the boot and relegated Gilas Youth to the classification phase.
This, to Eala, was plain and simple "embarrassing."
With Mason Amos checked all game long, Gilas Youth had to find heroes elsewhere, with Kyle Gamber, EJ Abadam, and Kobe Demisana all doing their part in slicing what was once a 37-point lead down to a more respectable 16-point spread.
Nonetheless, it's an adjustment that came a little too late.
Unfortunately, this loss also meant that the Philippines won't make it to the 2023 Fiba Under-19 World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary next year.
Gilas Youth will once again meet Chinese Taipei in the classification phase on Friday in the hope of finishing at fifth place at best.
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