HoopWatch

Team Philippines play like their American counterparts, a lot of showboating and free-lancing. But they are trying their best to veer away from the branding. They have played a lot of international competitions, playing against teams in Europe and Asia in various tournaments, and it has helped them in blending together, passing to each other and communicating each other.

But those dribbling exhibitions and great one-on-one plays remind everyone of the NBA style of play, and it separates them from the rest. In the recently concluded Jones Cup, a lot of times defenses were broken by the Filipino guards’ crossover dribbles. They are quick, and they are the fastest and speediest team in Asia right now. No one else comes near to their quickness and ability with the ball.

Fatigue has to be attributed to their third place finish. But if luck was on their side, they could have won the tournament. They lost two heart-breaking games on buzzer-beaters after leading by as much as ten in the final periods of both games. Their other loss to Jordan was just a four-point setback. If Kerby Raymundo only made those two crucial free-throws, it could have spelled the difference. That loss to Kazakhstan was ugly. But any time an opponent hits 60% of their threes, well chalk that win for them.

All in all, the Philippines may lack height, but they have athleticism and speed going their way. They play to their strengths, and we learned a lot from those losses. Those were good defeats. Given time, the Philippines may be back as second to China in Asia.