The Smart-Gils lost its semifinals match-up in the 33rd William Jones Cup against Middle Eastern power Iran, 59-78. The Iranians totally dominated the inside and nobody in the Philippine line-up can contain NBA Veteran Hamad Haddadi who almost outscored the whole Philippine team at one point. He finished with 36 points.
Well, a different kind of Iranian team faced the Smart-Gilas this time. The Gilas were playing minus JV Casio who has been their main sniper in the tournament. His absence was visible and the replacements were ineffective. Douhit and the other big guys were having a hard time guarding Hadadi.
So, what does this mean? Not much, I guess. The real battle will be next month but the signs are not good. The lack of height and heft will really show in the big games. The Gilas will be eaten alive inside. Douhit is passable but after him? How can we improve in a month? Will Kelly Williams help? A little perhaps.
It is also annoying to see that players like Slaughter are getting ticky-tacky calls that will not be called in events like Fiba Asia. We have to toughen up our biggies as early as college. If the Philippines want to succeed, they have to discourage centers or power forwards who look like who is on a diet. Lanky dudes are good for modeling but for tough games, they should put a minimum playing weight for our guys. Hire people like Alex Ariza to teach speed with the added weight. I am sure we can create better big men in the future.
As for the 2012 Olympic Dreams, it is the time to show the world the power of prayers. ;)
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