Why Gilas Pilipinas lost to Congo

The Gilas Pilipinas squad were cruising through their first two games in the four-team Torneo de Malaga in Spain. They were able to dominate Congo in their first game and outwit the Ivory Coast in the second. Unfortunately, they cannot register the same outcome in their rematch sgainst the Congolese.

Why so? Here's a breakdown of what happened.

The Gabe Norwood factor

The long-time Rain or Shine Elastopainter did not suit play, thus shortening Gilas' rotation to nine men. Kiefer Ravena could have been the 10th but he is still serving his suspension which will end on August 24. Compare that to the 12 men that Coach John Douaglin had.

Norwood's defensive versatility, particularly in the interior, was sorely missed. This allowed Congo to get the upper hand in rebounds, 41-35, and inside points, 40-30. Stats like these also makes Coach Yeng Guiao wish that he had a Junemar Fajardo or a Christian Standhardinger in the fold.

Gilas also had no answer for Ron Mvouika who missed only two shots en route to his 21 points. He made all of his four attemps from three-point territory to go with six rebounds, six assists, and two steals.

Foul trouble

Gilas owned a 29-20 lead in the opening quarter when Japeth Aguilar was called for his second personal foul. The momentum shifted since as the Congolese dominated the rest of the way. Team Pilipinas fought back in the fourth quarter but it was too late the hero.

Robert Bolick also fouled out despite pacing Gilas with 21 points while Beau Belga was in the brink of following suit with four fouls. In comparison, none of Congo's players had more than three fouls.

Turnovers

Some of Gilas' 18 turnovers led to crucial baskets for the Congolese. The African opponents also used our squad's blunders to tally some of their 20 assists which enabled them to build a lead that stretched to as high as 17 points.

Cold shooting from three

The Philippine men's basketball team live and die with the three point shot to off-set their height disadvantage. The good news is that they had one more conversion than Congo (8-7). But the shooting percentage paint a grim reality.

It took Gilas 26 attempts to make that many which translates to a 30.8% clip. Meanwhile, Congo only had 17 tries for a 41.2% clip. This could have been negated if the Philippine ballers could crash the offensive boards. That was not the case given Congo's height superiority.

What now?

Gilas missed the opportunity of facing world number two Spain in what could have been the best barometer for the squad. That would have been a nice memory for the Gilas players and coaches. Instead, they will face the Ivory Coast again to possibly end the training camp on a winning note.