LET’S get this out of the way first: Chris Evans is probably not watching an actual Gilas game in his new ad for Smart Communications.
(SEE: Chris Evans says, 'Simple, Smart Ako' as Marvel actor revealed as brand ambassador)
With the magic of special effects, the “screens” the popular movie actor is viewing were probably added in post-production. Like many ads and movies, Evans was most likely filmed in front of a green screen, with the background elements added in later.
Still, a brief snippet of a Gilas game made it into the ad. You can watch it at around the 00:55 mark, when Evans enters the Avengers HQ-esque room and views the "holographic displays."
Consensus from the Spin.ph staff seems to point to this 2016 Turkey tune-up game as the likely source of the footage.
That game saw the national squad bow to the Omer Asik-led team in the latter’s home turf of Istanbul, 103-68.
The moment captured in the Smart ad is probably from the middle of the fourth quarter, when Bobby Ray Parks (whose white headband and arm wrap are clearly seen) cuts through the Turkish defense for an easy layup. You can watch the moment at 11:40 in the clip below, captured from a different camera angle.
At the time, Spin.ph’s Gerry Ramos wrote of the game, “Gilas Pilipinas quickly got a feel of the kind of competition awaiting it in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila three weeks from now.”
Coincidentally enough, this year, Gilas will also head into the OQT, after New Zealand dropped out of the Olympics running. The national team will take the Tall Blacks’ place in Group A.
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