Drexler says quickness is key to Gilas’ World Cup bid

MANILA, Philippines – Clyde Drexler was a member of the original US Dream Team that overwhelmed the opponents on their way to a gold medal finish in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Drexler teamed up with Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Patrick Ewing, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin and Christian Laettner.

That dream collection of NBA stars awed their opponents and won by an average of 43.8 points per game.

The phenomenal performance of the Dream Team on the world stage spawned the global growth of the sport as the other countries started to catch up in the recent years.

With the Philippines returning to the world stage for the first time since 1978 or 14 years before Drexler and company took the Olympics by storm, the NBA legend has a piece of advice to Gilas Pilipinas.

"I think Philippine players can really shoot it. They need to use their quickness and shooting ability and I think if you have a good strategy, you can beat anybody," Drexler told Philstar.com.

"So I would like to tell them to keep working on that game, play hard, play with heart and have some fun," he added

The last three adjectives epitomized the Gilas Pilipinas' historic silver finish in the recent FIBA Asia Men's Championship that was matched by the Under-16 national team last week.

With a ticket to the FIBA World Cup, Gilas Pilipinas will be ranged against the elite teams in the world in Spain next year, including another powerhouse US team if they fall in the same bracket.

Drexler, who is here for the second time to grace the first ever NBA pre-season game in the country, reinforced the belief in the dribble-drive offense, the type of game which national team coach Chot Reyes successfully instilled in Gilas Pilipinas.

"They [Filipinos] are so quick. They have to use their quickness. If you have assets, I mean it would really help me if I’m quick and I’m a jumper, I could really play like a flying horse," said Drexler, who had career averages of 20.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game and won an NBA title with the Houston Rockets in 1995.

"So you have to play with your strengths as much as you can," he ended.