#gogilas

A statement win led by Jayson Castro’s 26 points propelled the Philippines to first place in Group E of the 2015 FIBA Asia Olympic Qualifier.

All Filipinos have been waiting for this moment. A moment where we could hold our heads up high and proudly say we took down Iran at full strength. So this is technically a no excuse game. Iran has no scapegoat for their loss. Gilas just outplayed them in almost every facet of the ballgame.

The supposed to be taller and mightier inside the shaded area Iran was outrebounded, 39-40. Iran had 16 turnovers compared to 12 for the Philippines. I could go on and spew out more statistics but you get my point: Gilas outplayed Iran in major facets of the game and that led to the 14 point victory over them.

The turning point was during the midway of the 3rd quarter, when Terrence Romeo hit a 3 in transition to put the Philippines back up, 58-56 and the Philippines would never relinquish the lead from that point. 

The team defense was so good from the midway point of the 3rd quarter onwards. They forced steals, forced Iran to take wild shots, and the Philippines shut down passing lanes over and over again, especially those to Hamed Haddadi, Iran’s first option, who was clearly flustered and that really limited the Iranian offense. They were held to 30 points in the 2nd half while Gilas, led by Castro and Andray Blatche, scored 50 points in a blistering pace to leave their counterparts in the dust.

There you have it. Gilas showed that they’re not just all heart and determination. They showed that they’re capable, day in and day out, of winning in the sport’s biggest international stage. They’ve been pushed over by Iran before who ended our magical run 2 years ago in the FIBA Asia Championship Match, 85-71. But they stood up to their longtime bullies and stared at them without fear, instead it was Gilas who instilled fear to them. They showed the Iranians that they can defeat them and that they will be pushovers no more. 

We knew way back that they had the skill to pull this off, the question was can they execute? And execute they did. They excellently played both ends of the floor in the 2nd half, and if they keep playing in that level and intensity, it’s hard not to see that Gilas Pilipinas can finally clinch the Philippines’ first Olympic berth in 44(!) years, after being perennial laughingstocks.