It was the toughest of roads that Gilas took to get to the basketball finals of Asian Games, and that made the Philippines’ gold medal-clinching victory in the Asiad after a 61-year-long wait even sweeter.
“Six decades,” said Gilas head coach Tim Cone after Gilas’ 70-60 win over Jordan, the only team that the Philippines’ lost to in this continental championship, pondering the historic significance of the victory for a country where basketball is like religion.
The last time a Philippine team won a gold in the Asian Games was in 1962 in Jakarta, with the legendary Caloy “The Big Difference” Loyzaga still on top of his game. The Philippines last played in the Asiad finals in 1990, and the last team to medal was mentored by Cone himself in 1998.
The 1998 squad, called the Philippine Centennial Team and comprised of the best Filipino professional players then, was on the cusp of barging into the finals but two missed free throws and a last-second three-point heave by South Korea relegated that team coached by Cone to the bronze medal match.
In a sense, the Friday night victory in Hangzhou, China was redemption for Cone who reluctantly took on the head coaching job after Chot Reyes resigned following a dismal performance by Gilas at the World Cup that Manila co-hosted with Japan and Indonesia just last month.
With just two weeks to prepare, Cone and team manager Al Francis Chua hastily organized a crew only to find out later that four of the players they picked weren’t on the list that the Samahang Basketball the Pilipinas submitted to the Hangzhou organizing committee. Players like CJ Perez, Marcio Lassiter, Kevin Alas, and Chris Ross had to be brought in just days before the team left for China, not even sure if they would be allowed by the organizing committee to play.
Gilas handily won its first two games against Bahrain and Thailand but hit a brick wall against Jordan in the group stage, losing by an embarrassing 25 points. Then it had to battle Qatar to get to the quarterfinals against a gritty Iranian team, which erased Gilas’ 21-point lead but fell a point short to get the win.
In the semifinals, Gilas drew another monster game from Justin Brownlee to defeat host China, who led most of the way until that last 24 seconds. There were moments of doubt if Gilas could even get to the finals, Cone admitted after the game against China. But the players. led by naturalized player Brownlee, never gave up. “Purely Filipino heart, puso,” said Brownlee of what kept the team going.
Brownlee continued to lead in the finals, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
The golden triumph also provided closure for assistant coach Jong Uichico, whose 2002 team failed to advance to the semis, while players Chris Newsome and Calvin Oftana—the last two to be cut from the Gilas World Cup team—proved the they belong to be with the team in a big stage.
Newsome had his best game in the finals, scoring 13 points, to help the Philippines defeat Jordan in the lowest-scoring finals of the Asian Games.
“There’s a lot that we had to go through to get here…it was definitely an uphill climb for us,” said Newsome, who was designated primary defender against Jordan’s naturalized player Hollis-Jefferson. “This is our second match with Jordan and we needed the first loss…it was a blessing in disguise,” he added.
Gilas kept the game pace slow, opting to take shots when the clock is around the last 10 seconds, limiting possessions, and probably to preserve energy. Over the last five days, Gilas played four games, including the finals. The Iran and China games were too close to allow Gilas players to rest.
CJ Perez, who hardly played in the World Cup, was already on vacation with his family when he received a call from Chua. After the gold medal match, Perez was beside himself, shouting: “Baskayon na, nakamedalya pa.”
Japheth Aguilar, who started serving Gilas a decade ago, said: “If this is my last dance (with Gilas), what a way to end it.”
Marcio Lassiter, a pioneer of Gilas and who was among the last-minute replacements, said the triumph at the Asian Games is simply special. “61 years, this means a lot to everyone,” he said.
