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FIBA World Cup: Better effort not enough, as Serbia simply ‘too good’ vs Gilas

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/tvpatrol/09/02/20190902-nikola-jokic.jpg"/><figcaption>Gilas Pilipinas got a taste of All-NBA level talent when Nikola Jokic led Serbia to an easy win over the Filipinos on Monday. Reuters stringer</figcaption></figure></div>FOSHAN, China—Gilas Pilipinas put together a much better effort, but it was nowhere near close enough for them to defeat a &quot;special&quot; Serbian team in the 2019 FIBA World Cup at the Foshan International Sports and Cultural Center here.The Philippines managed to stay within striking distance for one and a half quarters, thanks to inspired play by rookies CJ Perez and Robert Bolick. But Serbia had too many weapons for them, and their best one, Nikola Jokic, sparked the 18-2 run that broke the game open in the second frame.Serbia, the fourth-ranked team in the world, took a 126-67 triumph to formalize their entry to the second round. Gilas Pilipinas, meanwhile, was relegated to the classification phase for the 17th to 32nd places.&quot;Of course we&#x27;re all disappointed. It&#x27;s really the same disappointment that we feel, but overall, this is a better effort, actually, than the first effort,&quot; said Guiao, referring to their performance against Italy wherein they lost 108-62.&quot;Kasi &#x27;yung sa Italy, may kasamang shellshock pa &#x27;yun. Pero dito we already knew what was coming, we already understood the situation,&quot; he added.Perez (16 points) and Paul Lee (15 points) had their shining moments for the Philippines, as did Robert Bolick and June Mar Fajardo. But for all of their efforts, they were still no match for the faster, bigger, and more skilled Serbians.Jokic, in particular, carved up the Philippines&#x27; defense in less than 20 minutes of action. The Denver All-Star went 5-of-5 from the field and put up 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.It did not help that Andray Blatche again struggled, notching just five points while fouling out of the game.&quot;Serbia&#x27;s just too big, too good,&quot; Guiao conceded.&quot;Match-up wise, talagang hindi tayo makaka-match up. There&#x27;s really no way we can match up with their talent, with their size, with their strength. Plus of course, Serbia is a special team at this point.&quot;I think they have a really good chance at playing the finals or maybe even winning the whole thing.&quot;Guiao had hoped to keep the game &quot;as close as we can for as long as we can.&quot;&quot;Apparently, we couldn&#x27;t keep it too close that long,&quot; he quipped.In order to stay in step with Serbia, the Philippines needed to shoot well from behind the arc, said Guiao. But for the second straight game, their perimeter offense sputtered: Gilas made just four of 24 3-pointers in the match. Serbia, in contrast, was 12 of 22 from beyond the arc.&quot;Even if we close out on them and try to put a hand up in their faces, it&#x27;s just really not enough for us to be able to disrupt their offense and their shots,&quot; said Guiao.&quot;So, there&#x27;s just... they&#x27;re just too big and too good for us at this point.&quot;Still, Gilas Pilipinas did give Guiao some reasons to smile. Though they still absorbed a massive defeat, the coach could see that the Philippine players put up a better effort this time around. He even noted that Serbia &quot;had to put out its full strength&quot; in the second quarter in order to land the knockout blow on Gilas.&quot;In the first quarter and part of the second, medyo andoon pa tayo. Talagang tinodo na ng Serbia &#x27;yung end of the first half and early in the third quarter,&quot; said Guiao.&quot;So, they really wanted to finish us off, but medyo naka-hang on tayo ng kaunti.&quot;Gilas now turns its attention to its final game of the group round against Angola, before traveling to Beijing for the classification phase.<div>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.</div>

The Filipinos can take consolation in the fact that they weren't immediately run off the court this time against Nikola Jokic and Serbia.

The Filipinos can take consolation in the fact that they weren't immediately run off the court this time against Nikola Jokic and Serbia.

FIBA World Cup: Better effort not enough, as Serbia simply ‘too good’ vs Gilas

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FIBA World Cup: Better effort not enough, as Serbia simply ‘too good’ vs Gilas

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 03, 2019 12:30 AM PHT

Read More:

2019 FIBA World Cup

Gilas Pilipinas

Yeng Guiao

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