Batang Gilas Falls to Canada, As Expected, 62-102.

Well, we knew it was coming. In a tune up game just a week ago, our young guns lost to the same side by 35 points. Today, when it counted, we lost by 40.

Here are three thoughts on today's game.

Thought #1 We need better guardplay.
Our point guard rotation of Terence Fortea (3.5 TOs) and Rence Padrigao (3.3 TOs) are averaging a whopping 6.8 turnovers between the two of them. Compare that to our point guard rotation from the severely undersized U17 team from 2014, Jolo Go (1.7 TOs) and Jolo Mendoza (.4 TOs), who averaged a measly 2.1 turnovers between them.

And that's with Go (12.4) and Mendoza (12.6) leading the team in scoring too. Fortea is currently averaging 7.8 pts while Padrigao is averaging 1.5 pts per game.


And this is probably because they are facing competition that is waaaay better than the one they are used to seeing in Manila. See, when they play in Manila, they are guarded by players who are often just as tall or, sometimes, even smaller than they are. So they get into certain habits where they use their superior athleticism and skills to dominate the low level competition offered by our local players.

That's why they get into a lot of trouble in international play. Here, they have to go up against guards who are a lot bigger, like France's Mathieu Gauzin (6'2") and Theo Maledon (6'3"). These players were not only taller but also faster, more athletic, heftier, skilled, and fearless driving to the hoop.

Thought #2 Kai Sotto is not just big.
One of the bright spots in the Philippines' campaign is the validation of Kai Sotto as a world-class player. And what's really amazing is that we can see how fast this young man is developing.

While we expected him to dominate the UAAP juniors because of his height, did anyone really expect him to to take to school the big men of Argentina and Croatia? Even Canada and France, who had more success dealing with him, had to throw staggered double teams and triple teams at him.

What's more, the young giant has skills. Just look at the highlights of their game against Canada.

That's Kai Sotto with a fantastic head fake and drive to the basket for the dunk. And also him with a spin move ala Olajuwon for a reverse dunk. And the passing out of the post is hella pretty. Comparisons to Yao Ming are warranted, indeed.

Thought #3 We have more talent than we think.
While everyone was talking about Kai Sotto, Carl Tamayo, Rence Padrigao, and Terence Fortea, here comes Raven Cortez and Gerry Abadiano. Abadiano has had a coming-out party of sorts, basically leading the Philippines in scoring in the last three games (17, 17, 19) to tie Kai Sotto for the team's top scorer (14.8).

But what's really amazing is he's a legit international shooting guard at 6'5", with room to grow in the next couple of years. He also has a decent touch from three (33%) and is reliable from the stripe (79%)

Raven Cortez, on the other hand, is a mobile, active, hardnosed, sometimes-too-aggressive defender who is already showing signs he can be an elite power forward in the PBA someday. He's the perfect complement to Kai Sotto because he doesn't demand for the ball on offense, is predatory on the boards, helps out on team D, and runs the floor extremely well.

Given all these, there is much to be happy about with our Batang Gilas U17 team. And the games continue, as the boys strive to beat our best place (15th overall) in the FIBA U17 competitions.