MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes keeps his players' heads held high even after a tough 81-85 loss to Lebanon in the fourth window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers on Thursday (early Friday morning, Manila time).
Reyes, who has been feeling the brunt of the criticism as Gilas continues to be stuck in a patch of losses in their outings, said that despite the outcome, there was much to be happy with.
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"Well we knew it was going to be it was going to be a tough game. It was going to be difficult because we're playing the No. 2 team in Asia from the Fiba Asia Cup playing at home. So we expected that it will be a big challenge, big battle for us. But I'm very proud of the way our team played," Reyes said after the game.
"I thought we battled and we battled hard. We competed," he added.
And Reyes' sentiments were mirrored by how the game unfolded, with the Filipinos jumping to an early start where they led 9-2.
They also took a four point lead late in the fourth salvo, 75-71, before the Lebanese were able to claw back into the game courtesy of Wael Arakji's clutch heroics.
But unfortunately for Gilas and its fans, sloppy play on the ball helped Lebanon weather the Filipino challenge, especially in the second salvo where the home team gained control of the lead.
Reyes himself lamented the lost chances to mishandling of the ball, some of which were even unforced on the end of Gilas.
"Unfortunately, we had too many turnovers, 21 turnovers really was the big difference in this ballgame and that's just a result of us not yet as familiar with each other as we'd like to be," said Reyes.
"So if we get some more time or more practice time together, then we should be able to address that," he continued.
Still, Reyes said he isn't hanging his head too much after seeing how his wards put in the effort.
"But like I said, I'm very happy with the way we played, gave it our best shot. Unfortunately, the results didn't come out our way," he said.
Reyes and Gilas hope to bounce back by protecting home court on Monday, August 29, at the Mall of Asia Arena against Saudi Arabia in the second of two games of the window.