Gilas longs for strong, fast start

MANILA, Philippines — Wanted: A strong-starting Gilas Pilipinas.

Noting one of their glaring flaws in the recent training camp in Estonia, Gilas guard Scottie Thompson said leveling up on the opening assault is a must for the FIBA World Cup-gearing Nationals.

“Sobrang bad start kami past two games and naka-recover lang,” Thompson said in the wake of Gilas’ weeklong sortie in Tallinn marked by losses to Estonia (71-81) and Finland (85-89).

“‘Yun talaga ang kailangan ma-learn namin – from the start, all-out na agad kasi sa international ganoon, first two minutes talagang parang second half na sila maglaro. So sana makuha namin ‘yung ganoong style of play.”

The Filipinos trailed 11-29 against the Finns and 19-41 versus the Estonians and mounted unsuccessful attempts to steal it each time.

“We have to take a look at our warm-up protocols, take a look at our starting lineup, maybe we have to make some changes there. But I think it’s really just a matter of getting used to the FIBA pace,” said coach Chot Reyes.

“We’re still at PBA starting pace and that’s why these games are so valuable to us,” he added.

As the pool entered the next phase of this European sortie in Kaunas, Lithuania, Reyes underscored the need to work hard on the rebounding aspect.

“That’s really going to be a continuing cause for concern because of the size of all the teams that we are playing. So that’s something that we need to continue to work on,” said Reyes.

Gilas is booked for at least four tuneup games in its 10-day stay in Lithuania.

“Right now, it’s about putting in the fundamentals and the mechanics in getting on the same page and putting the foundation and that foundation is slowly getting into game shape and that’s not going to happen overnight,” said Reyes, who will be conducting twice-a-week practices.

“That’s why we are starting this early. That’s why we are playing all these games,” he added.