May magiliw na payo si Yeng Guiao para sa Gilas Pilipinas kasunod ng walang kabuluhang pagpasok nito sa FIBA Basketball World Cup: Focus on Asia.
Sinabi kahapon ni Guiao sa Daily Tribune na ang pinakamahusay na paraan para maipadama ng Gilas Pilipinas ang presensya nito sa isang world-class event ay sa pamamagitan ng pagdodomina sa mga Asian competition tulad ng Asian Games at FIBA Asia Men’s Championship.
Si Guiao ay nagsasalita batay sa karanasan.
Ang batikang mentor ay nagsilbing head coach nang lumaban ang Gilas Pilipinas sa World Cup sa China noong 2019 kung saan nagwakas ito nang walang ni isang panalo sa limang laban.
“I’ve been saying it all along. It’s good to be at the world level, but it’s more important to focus on Asia first and dominate the competition,” sabi ni Guiao sa isang phone interview.
“How can we win at the world level if we cannot dominate Asia? Let’s focus on Asia before thinking about the World Cup.”
Ang Japan, isang koponan na maraming beses nang natalo ng Gilas Pilipinas sa nakaraan, ay umuusbong bilang nangungunang Asian team matapos magposte ng mga tagumpay laban sa Finland, 98-88, sa unang round at Venezuela, 86-77, sa classification match.
Samantala, ang Asian powerhouse na China ay mayroon lamang isang panalo matapos talunin ang Angola, 83-76, gayundin ang Lebanon, na tinalo ang Ivory Coast, 94-84.
Sinisikap pa rin ng Lebanon na kolektahin ang pangalawang panalo nito laban sa walang panalong Iran habang isinusulat ang balitang ito, habang ang Jordan ay hindi pa rin nanalo sa apat na laban sa kabila ng parading naturalized player na si Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
Sinabi ni Sotto na lumakas nang husto ang firepower ng Gilas, dahil sa paglitaw ng National Basketball Association stalwart na si Jordan Clarkson at 7-foot-3 rising star Kai Sotto.
“They have Jordan Clarkson now and Kai Sotto,” said Guiao, now the head coach of Rain or Shine in the Philippine Basketball Association.
“These are the players that we didn’t have when we competed in the FIBA World Cup four years ago. They also have a longer time to prepare.”
Bagama’t si Clarkson ay babalik sa Utah Jazz pagkatapos ng World Cup, ang kanyang kapalit bilang naturalized player na si Justin Bronwlee ay hindi rin push over dahil alam niya ang Filipino brand ng basketball tulad ng likod ng kanyang kamay.
Sinabi ni Guiao na inaasahan niyang mas makalaro ang Gilas sa 19th Asian Games na itinakda sa Hangzhou mula Setyembre 23 hanggang Oktubre 8.
“The World Cup stint would definitely help our Gilas team and we expect them to play much better when we compete in the Asian Games,” Guiao said, adding that the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas should turn its attention on the Asian Games, where the Filipinos have a better chance of winning.
“The Chinese team that we faced in 2018, they have all their NBA players in that tournament. They really prepared for that tournament,” said Guiao, who also coached the Gilas squad that competed in the previous Asian Games in 2018.
“On the other hand, our team was put up at the last minute. The Philippines was not even supposed to be there.”
