"They played much better in the second game," admitted Gaze, referring to the Fighting 15’s reversal of their 80-76 setback to the Tigers last Thursday. "It was high-scoring and we shot poorly. We played a lot of zone in the first half–something we don’t really do. In the NBL, we zone about .001 percent of the time. But we wanted to test the Philippine team against the zone and we didn’t do a good job–we stood around and it seemed like we were being benevolent."
Gaze said it’s not his business to question referees’ calls. "We have no control of how the referees call it," he continued. "Our fate is in our hands. We just have to play above the calls."
But Gaze, a four-time Olympic coach, chuckled when he recalled his starting center Mark Bradtke’s early foul trouble in Game 2. "We were on offense and Mark got fouled," he said. "He got called for the foul instead and pushed off so the refs whistled a technical. By the end of the first period, Mark had three fouls and didn’t play the entire second quarter."
The Philippines raced to a 19-point lead in the third period but the Tigers clawed back to even up matters with 12 ticks to go. Melbourne refused to roll over and die.
After the contest, Philippine coach Joseph Uichico invited Gaze to the hosts’ lockerroom for a brief chat.
"It took about five to 10 minutes," said Gaze. "Coach Jong asked me to say a few words. I told them to encourage and support each other and to understand how difficult is the coaches’ task of establishing the roles of each player. I urged them to build on what they’ve accomplished and move forward. I know they’ll do well in the Asian Games. How did they react? I don’t really know. They seemed attentive and treated me with respect. Then they applauded. I hope I contributed to their development even in a small way. When they play in Busan, I’ll follow their progress closely."
Gaze, 65, said before coming to Manila, the Tigers had played only a game in the offseason—an exhibition against the NBL club Canberra Canons. He recruited Matt Reuter, Neil Mottram, and Greg Blake to bolster the Melbourne lineup but Mottram, a 6-10 center, couldn’t play here because of injuries. Luckily, his son Andrew was able to see action—he wasn’t originally tipped to play because he’s recovering from ankle surgery.
Gaze said Reuter, an American from Southeast Missouri State, was a walk-on from the Australian minors and made the team because of his attitude and work ethic. In the NBL, a team is allowed to play two imports and an unlimited number of naturalized players. This season, the Tigers’ imports will be Reuter and Southern Illinois Marcus Timmons. Lanard Copeland is their resident naturalized player.
Mottram’s absence prevented Gaze from playing the Twin Towers formation with Bradtke, a former Philadelphia 76er.
Gaze said the Philippines did a heckuva job off the boards. He downplayed criticism that the Fighting 15 don’t move the ball too much and prefer to play the one-on-one isolation National Basketball Association (NBA) style.
"Different teams have different personalities," explained Gaze. "If your best scorers are No. 8 (Danny Seigle) and the blond guy (Asi Taulava), I don’t blame coach Jong for giving them the ball every time. We had a tough time defending both those guys."
If the Philippines played China instead of the Tigers last Thursday, Gaze said the Chinese would’ve won by about 12 points. He cited the size factor as critical. "China has two big guys inside," continued Gaze. "That’s a major problem. But it’s not impossible to beat China. You’ve got to be play aggressive on-the-ball defense and keep the ball away from the big guys. China isn’t used to playing under pressure and when they face pressure, they don’t react well. If the Philippines get some kind of momentum against China, you’ve got a chance."
Gaze said South Korea is another headache. "The Koreans like to score from outside," he noted. "Sometimes, they’re free for a layup and they still kick it out to their shooters. They’ve got great shooters like Shin Dong Pa–no conscience shooters with a real soft touch. The secret is to deny the receivers."
Tomorrow, Gaze talks about the possibility of creating a Grand Prix of basketball involving Australia, New Zealand, China, South Korea and the Philippines in the near future.