Author: Roi Ciruela
As we look back at the remarkable journey of Gilas Pilipinas in the 2024 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, one game stands out as a turning point. Our Gilas Team shocked the world’s Number 6 Team (Latvia) during the Olympic Qualifiers Tournament. It started with a quick pass from Kai Sotto to the Kraken for an easy layup. After that sequence, there was no turning back. It was surreal. All of our starters scored double figures. JBL almost tallied a triple-double with 26 points 9 rebounds and 9 assists.
Gilas Pilipinas’ Key Performance Metrics
Everything was clicking. We shot better than Latvia, 48% versus 37% FG. That goes the same for our 3-point shooting, 45% versus 23%. But the biggest difference was our inside presence which we dominated by 11 rebounds. The Final Score was 89 to 80.
This game was a testament that we are not the same Gilas Team that relies on Puso anymore! We made a strong statement against a top-caliber team with better defense and offensive sets. We did the same against Brazil in the majority of the game, we just had a fallout protecting the lead in the last quarter. To sum it all up, we always knew we had the potential to be an Olympic-caliber team and now we are just 33 ranks away to be number 1 in the world. We just need to match our Puso with better Basketball execution and hopefully unite all efforts from our local league.
*Photo Credit: FIBA PHOTOS
