The inability to generate offense was one big reason Gilas Pilipinas got a thorough beatdown on Monday at the hands of Australia. And a lot of that had something to do with how the Boomers played defense.
Gunning for a perfect record to end the first round of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, the Boomers left nothing to chance in this one, pressing Gilas from 94 feet and stifling everyone from one end of the court to the other. The defense, in short, was on point, physical, unforgiving—and unrelenting, as Australia never let up.
Gilas Gives Credit to Australia’s Defense
Postgame, Gilas head coach Tim Cone and longtime mainstay Dwight Ramos could only praise Australia’s swarming defensive effort.
“They really just were superior athletes,” Cone told reporters after Australia’s 92-49 rout of Gilas. “We couldn’t get into our offense. They did such a great job of defending. We had one good quarter, second quarter, but really just having trouble just getting the ball past half court and getting into something, and a credit to their defense. And that keyed their transition game, their ability to hit three-point shots…”
Ramos concurred, noting the Boomers’ “amazing pressure up the court” that gave Gilas plenty of trouble all game long.
“It was very difficult. We had a lot of turnovers in the backcourt. And then when we were able to get across half court, shot clock was low, forced us to bad shots,” Ramos said. “Throughout the game, it wears us down. And obviously the efficiency of our offense goes down with all that pressure. And so also the decision making…”
That defense certainly wore down Gilas, forcing Ramos and company to commit 19 turnovers, most either in the backcourt or on errant passes. It also limited the nationals to a paltry 28% from the field overall and 16.8% from distance, as almost every shot seemed well contested.
A Learning Experience Again?
Ramos, in particular, was among those the Boomers stifled the most, as he shot just 4-for-16 from the field and turned the ball over twice. But rather than feel bad, the stocky guard from California hopes to use that humbling experience as fuel to get better moving forward.
“It’s credit to their defense. It really made us struggle today,” Ramos stressed. “But [it is] something we got to learn from if we want to keep getting better and play against top competition like this.”
Australia certainly is top competition—and it showed the Filipinos there are levels to hoops.
