Gilas Pilipinas trains its big guns on Vietnam, determined to bring its second opponent in the 30th Southeast Asian Games to its knees and go on the prowl for the next round of men's basketball play.
The fancied home side torched Singapore to open its campaign last Wednesday, 110-58, but coach Tim Cone felt they still have a lot of fine-tuning to do to get fully prepped for what we expect to be a tougher opponent at 8:15 p.m. Friday.
"Against Singapore, we were uneven, showing flashes of brilliant play at times and at others showing how disjointed we can be. We're hoping to smooth that out as we continue to learn each other as the Games progress," said Cone.
Vietnam, a team bannered by Vietnamese-Americans Tran Dang Khoa, Dinh Thanh Sang, Tran Dang Khoa, Dinh Thanh Sang, Justin Young and Chris Dierker and Vietnamese-Swede Stefan Nguyen, showed their quality in a 131-52 massacre of Myanmar also last Wednesday.
"Vietnam is one program that has really improved with the addition of five Viet-Americans and one Viet-Swede since the last time in the Games...They got six, seven players who are really good athletes and really know the game. They played in the US so they've been raised in that kind of basketball and they're bringing it to Vietnam so I think they're gonna be very, very tough," said Cone.
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The national team mentor expects more from his still-to-gel charges as they face a serious threat.
" I don't think we played our best basketball last Wednesday. We're a little bit herky-jerky; we weren't smooth offensively and we had to make an adjustment at halftime but honestly, I believe we'll get better and better as the Games go along," he said.
As in the Singapore match, Cone wants Gilas to take an all-business approach and get locked-in defensively as they eye Win No. 2 and a step closer to the semifinals.
"I feel the guys came out and took a serious approach, not taking it like an All-Star game where you can take up any shot and play defense when you feel like it. The guys took it seriously. I think they want to show the country that they're gonna take a serious approach and respect the game. When you respect the game, you respect your opponent," he said.
Gilas put up sustained defensive effort in their 52-point drubbing of Singapore and Cone tasked his wards to stay this way against the more skilled Vietnamese.
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"We're hoping we can sustain our defense as we go along and improve it. Guys are locked in on the defensive side that as a coach, it's what I'm looking for. I know they can score, I know they're gonna do their thing offensively but I want them to still focus on the defensive side," he said.
A second straight win virtually sends Gilas into the 'Last-4' with still a game left in its elims schedule against Myanmar. (OL) / Photo: Freddie Dionisio (spin.ph)
