When David nearly slew Goliath

SEVILLE – The Philippines gave powerhouse Croatia the scare of its life in nearly fashioning a first-class upset to start the FIBA World Cup in Seville last Saturday. Gilas had a chance to win it in regulation but Jeff Chan’s quartercourt jumper failed to find the mark at the horn and Croatia escaped to pull out a harrowing 81-78 overtime decision.

Croatia’s naturalized player Oliver Lafayette, who once played for the Boston Celtics, said he never expected the Philippines to be as tough. “Yeah, we were kind of surprised,” said Lafayette. “They’re quick, they play really good ball. But I think we’ll be better for it. We’ll watch tape, review where we did wrong and what we did right and we’ll be more prepared for our next game. It’s a lesson that we can’t take any team lightly in this kind of tournament.”

Gilas head coach Chot Reyes said the big difference was the technical foul called on Jayson Castro for flopping late in the third period. That led to five straight points for Croatia on two free throws and a triple on the penalty possession. It was the second flopping call against the Philippines. Andray Blatche was previously whistled for flopping and Gilas got a warning for it. The technical foul was for the second violation. Reyes said Castro fell from a bump off 6-5 Kruno Simon’s shoulder. Castro, who is seven inches shorter, tried to sell an offensive foul.

Despite the call, the Philippines battled back and led by three in the fourth period before eventually losing in extension. For a while, it looked like David would slay Goliath. Croatia has been a basketball power since breaking away from Yugoslavia as an independent nation in 1991. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Croatia took home the silver medal, losing 117-85 to the US Dream Team in the finals. Croatia’s roster listed NBA cagers Drazen Petrovic, Toni Kukoc, Dino Raja and Zan Tabak who sat on the bench as an assistant coach in the Philippines game last Saturday. The US Dream Team featured stars like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen.

Last year, Croatia took fourth place at the FIBA Eurobasket in Slovenia and gained a ticket to the World Cup. And in its final warm-up game only four days before, Croatia stunned Lithuania, 94-80, with 6-8 Bojan Bogdanovic firing 24 points and 6-10 Dario Saric scoring 16. Against the Philippines, Bogdanovic sizzled for 26 points, including 6-of-6 free throws, and Saric, 20, tallied 10 before fouling out. Bogdanovic, 25, was Miami’s second round draft pick in 2011 and will make his NBA debut with the Brooklyn Nets this season. Saric, 20, was Orlando’s first round pick last June but his rights were traded to Philadelphia. Saric recently signed a three-year contract to play in Turkey with his NBA rights still held by the Sixers.

“The story of Gilas is like the story of our country,” said Reyes. “We’re a small nation, a Third World country and we’re often overlooked by the big powers of the world. But we just go out there and fight the best way we can. That’s our story. Entering the game against Croatia, we knew we had two chances to win – slim and none. We just gave ourselves a chance in the game we Filipinos love.”

Reyes said the plan was to take Croatia by surprise. “We felt if we would score an upset in this tournament, the best chance was to do it in our first game because not too many teams will know us by then,” he said. “Now, I guess everybody knows us. This game takes a toll on our guys. We’ve got an obvious disadvantage in size. For every stride our opponents take, we make three. For every jump, we take three. Right after the game, we’ll just go back to the hotel, rest and wait for the next game.”

The Philippines was scheduled to play Greece in his second contest last night (this morning, Manila time). “It’s an honor to play a world power like Greece, ranked No. 5 by FIBA,” said Reyes. “I’ve been a fan of Greece for many years. We get to watch games of the top Greek teams on TV in the Philippines. One of my favorite Greek players is Vassilis Spanoulis who unfortunately, isn’t playing in this year’s tournament. Of course, we all know the Greek player Giannis Antetokounmpo who’s with the Milwaukee Bucks.”

Reyes said what drives Gilas is the Filipino’s love for the team. “All we want is to put on a good showing and fight it out,” he said. “We nearly beat Croatia. Jeff had a good shot and it just didn’t fall. We gave ourselves a chance. I’m proud of our guys.”

Gilas guard Jimmy Alapag, who hit a four-point play off NBA veteran Roko Ukic, said the Philippines started slowly because of jitters. “We can’t get off to a slow start against teams like Croatia because they make you pay,” he said. “Dray got us back in. He’s fitting in well. We all get along.”

Assistant coach Joseph Uichico said Gilas stuck to its rotation and didn’t do things differently. There were instances where Gilas played small and big. Alapag and Castro were on the floor together. Blatche and JuneMar Fajardo also played together. Consultant Tab Baldwin said Gilas is difficult to scout because of Reyes’ innovative style. “We like to play raggedy and take our opponents out of their comfort zone,” said Baldwin who took New Zealand to the World Cup semifinals in 2002.

Croatian TV commentator Marko Sapit said before the game, coach Jasmin Repesa was a little wary about the Philippines. “We don’t know too much about the Philippine team but I’m sure you know a lot about the Croatian team because they are seen on TV playing all over the world,” said Sapit.

At the World Cup, a lot of players from top teams like Croatia show up unprepared. “All the coaches are prepared but some of the players, especially the stars, come in without the mood of competition especially at the start,” said a Gilas team official. “Now, the Philippine cat is out of the bag. No more surprises from Gilas. It’s going to be tougher from here on in.”