Ex-Gilas standout Chris Tiu still impressed with nationals

MNILA, Philippines – Though his team of PBA stars had Smart Gilas on the ropes for most of the time during their exhibition game Wednesday night, Rain or Shine’s Chris Tiu still holds the national squad in high regard.

"I think this team is really explosive, deadly and dangerous because in a blink of an eye they built up a huge lead at biglang umulan ng tres," said Tiu, himself a former Gilas standout, after their tune-up game at the MOA Arena, where Gilas stormed back to salvage a 99-87 win.

The PBA selection provided a stiff challenge in the first three quarters but succumbed to a barrage of triples in the payoff period. Gilas’ lead ballooned to 94-70 at the midway point of the fourth quarter.

"For three quarters napahiran namin sila pero nag-click yung shooting nila sa fourth quarter at lumabas din yung lack of practice namin. Ang dami namin lapses on defense,' said Tiu, who led the last Gilas iteration to a fourth place finish in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championships.

The sweet-shooting Ateneo alumus pointed out the improved talent of Gilas in the frontline compared to their previous team that was bannered by amateur players and reinforced by a handful of PBA cagers.

"I think this team really has the size now, in terms of talent in the frontline they have really improved. Junemar (Fajardo) has shown a lot of improvement, Ranidel (De Ocampo) will always be steady while Marc (Pingris) and Japeth (Aguilar) will be there to provide the energy,” said Tiu.

"This team has the ammunition to win the FIBA Asia. It’s just a matter of playing together, scouting opponents well, play their system perfectly and use the  extra energy provided by the home court advantage," he added.

Tiu is also optimistic of Gilas’ chances in the FIBA Asia Championship scheduled next week. He said he believes that the race is wide open, even forecasting the Philippine cage team to break through and fashion out a top three finish at the very least.

"The race is wide open and it just got easier with Lebanon out and Jordan not fielding in some of their veteran players. I think the contenders will still be China, Iran and Korea. If we can beat one of those teams and qualify for the World Championships, that will be great for the whole country," he ended.