MANILA, Philippines — As the Philippines stumbled to its worst ever finish of ninth place in Asian Games basketball history last Monday, former PBA commissioner Noli Eala described Gilas’ 44-point beating from China as “a national embarrassment.”
“NAKAKAHIYA! Gilas came into this game with a mindset that they could just LOSE, (mind you) NOT win, LOSE by 37. Where is the national pride? They lose 105-61. 44 points. Unacceptable.
A national embarrassment,” Eala wrote in his X account @NoliEala.
Gilas assistant coach Richard Del Rosario responded by commenting on Eala’s post.
“I respect you. However, before you make wild accusations and presumptions about our mindset, make sure that you know what was said inside the dugout,” del Rosario wrote as his response via @charddelrosario.
“We are embarrased by the loss, same as everyone else, but we NEVER entertained the idea to just play not to lose. We play to win!” To which Eala, who also hosts the sports online show Power and Play, replied this way: “If it was a wrong conclusion then I stand corrected Coach and I apologize. I know how to do that. I wonder if you guys know how to do that too.” Social media platforms like X and Facebook are buzzing with a variety of reactions as well from basketball-crazy Pinoy fans, who had expectations of seeing Gilas defend the men’s basketball crown it won in 2023 in Hangzhou, China.
For one, the Tim Cone-coached Gilas scored a two-game sweep of its home games against Jordan and Iran in the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers, two weeks before the Asian Games.
That Gilas team had a rock-solid talent composed of big men Kai Sotto, AJ Edu and June Mar Fajardo, along with Dwight Ramos, Carl Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao.
However, Sotto and Co. were not allowed to play in a non-FIBA tournament like the Asian Games.
Gilas also didn’t have naturalized player Justin Brownlee, who is still recovering from multiple injuries on his knee, leg and hamstring.
Cone went on to assemble an all-PBA backed Gilas side, which sustained back-to-back blowout losses to the Korean national team during the Hana Bank Invitational tournament in Suwon, South Korea just a week before the opening of the quarrennial Games men’s basketball.
Gilas lost by an average of 26.5 points in the two-game invitational, a situation that revealed initial signs of doubt from Filipino fans.
By the time the national team played its first game against a souped-up Bahrain side, the doubts were getting louder considering the tiny, oil-rich country entered the tournament reinforced by four naturalized players.
Gilas eventually fell, 85-89 to Bahrain with the loss revealing chemistry issue and the lack of preparation time.
The Philippines managed to bounce back with a 109-78 spanking of Kazakhstan, thanks to its 16 threes led by Jerrick Ahanmisi’s seven triples.
But that celebration proved short-lived, as Gilas couldn’t keep up with China’s massive size advantage and strong cohesion, leading to a 105-61 beating, thus ending the country’s title-retention bid.
Worse, the Philippines failed to reach the quarterfinals, dropping two levels lower than tbe 2014 Gilas team coached by Chot Reyes.
That Gilas squad placed seventh in the Incheon Asian Games, where the team was reinforced by naturalized big man Marcus Douthit.
Gilas ended the group stage with a 1-2 win-loss record, falling short of securing one of two quarterfinal spots reserved for the two best third-placers of the tournament.
Jordan and Saudi Arabia earned the quarterfinals spots, respectively due to better point differentials.
