South Korea exposes urgent Gilas needs for title defense

Justine Baltazar: Bright spot —FIBA PHOTO

Coach Tim Cone acknowledged there was plenty left to be desired after Gilas Pilipinas got beaten badly by South Korea on Friday in the first of two tuneup games between the two teams before the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

But Cone would rather see his 11-man crew play badly at this point than during the Asiad, where Gilas will look to defend its gold.

“We weren’t good, no doubt,” Cone said a day after Gilas’ 81-55 in Suwon, South Korea, where the exhibition series is being held.

“But we don’t need to be good right now. We need to be good a week from now when the Asian Games starts,” he added.

It wasn’t the first time this version of Gilas got some hardcourt action, having split a pair of scrimmages with the team that, last weekend, swept the fourth window of the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

But the series is the first look at how the all-PBA squad measures against a continental rival.

And right from the opening tip, Gilas found some immediate needs to work on, trailing 9-0 at the start, then failing to gain more ground after cutting the deficit to 21-18 late in the first quarter. The team spent the rest of the game playing catch-up and eventually falling by a huge margin

Shooting was something that was an eyesore, as the Filipinos went 23-of-82 from the field for a 28-percent clip, while its defense had no answer for South Korea’s outside shots.

Lee Hyung-jun led the way for South Korea with 27 points on seven triples, on top of three rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Justine Baltazar was among the few bright spots with 15 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and three steals, while Adrian Nocum scored 10. The gutsy Rian or Sine guard, however, shot 4-of-13 from the field.

Robert Bolick dished out five assists and grabbed four rebounds but was 1-of-8 for only two points in 26 minutes. His exposure in the match is a likely prelude to how he’ll be used during the Asian Games.

Gilas and South Korea will meet again on Sunday afternoon to conclude the series, before the two squads head to Japan for the Asiad. Cone would like to see the rematch serve some purpose.

“We’ll use this and Sunday’s game to get better,” Cone said. “Guys are still feeling each other out, learning to play together, learning what their roles are.”

“I believe we’ll settle in and figure it out. This team is really motivated,” he added. INQ