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| Photo courtesy of Turkish Basketball Federation |
Dismal performance of Gilas Pilipinas against Turkey nationals drew ire of coach Tab Baldwin.
“Don’t fall for that mentality that we’re the underdog and that there’s nothing to lose,” he said. “There is always something to lose. You have self-respect to lose and you have the respect of the fans and of each other, that you’ve rightfully earned, to lose.
“Let’s not fall back on that underdog thing and accept that everyone’s just better than us. Maybe they are, but they aren’t that much better. And we are not as bad as how we looked earlier.”
The heavy defeat to Turkey serve as a reality check for the team who are getting ready for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournamnent (OQT). The way the game turns out should also serve as a wake-up call to every players to raise their pursuance in aiming to win the OQT and to be in Rio de Janeiro Games.
“The key to this (OQT) tournament is we have to start strong. We have to be the aggressors because we are the underdogs so we have to fight right away.” – LA Tenorio
“We have to start focusing not only when we are here in the locker room,” LA Tenorio said who played against higher-ranked opposition at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. “We need to start the night before the game. This is not the Asian level anymore.”
“We cannot give up on possessions no matter what the score is,” Gilas forward Gabe Norwwod said. “We need to keep fighting. We’re all guilty. I’m guilty. I’m not going to lie to myself. We need to keep fighting no matter what the score is.”
Gilas Pilipinas and Turkey will up against each other again on their last tune-up game, this time here in Manila on July 1 at Mall of Asia Arena before the real battle for the OQT takes on July 5-10.
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