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Gilas Filipinas during their game against the Dominican Republic in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file
MANILA -- Not wanting to settle for another "moral victory," Gilas Pilipinas captain Japeth Aguilar believes the nationals will get better after their 87-81 defeat to the Dominican Republic in their FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 debut last Friday.
"Breaks of the game. We [don't] want to say another moral victory, because we already have a lot of those," Aguilar said.
Gilas hung tough against the 23rd ranked country in the world, even leading by as much as four, 59-55 late in the third quarter.
However, the Philippines committed 19 turnovers and allowed 17 offensive rebounds and 15 second-chance points, failing to close the game strong.
Jordan Clarkson led head coach Chot Reyes' troops with 28 points, but only shot 9-of-24 from the floor and fouled out late in the payoff period.
"We're only going to get better from this game. I'm happy [for] my teammates. Looking forward to the next game," Aguilar added.
Aguilar's fellow three-time World Cup veteran June Mar Fajardo added that Gilas played a fair game in general, but had a few lapses towards the end of regulation which spelled the difference in a bittersweet result in front of a record Philippine Arena crowd of 38,115.
"Maganda naman ang laro ng team. May mga lapses lang talaga, so kailangan naming i-correct 'yun. Bounce back tayo next game," Fajardo, who scored 16 points on a perfect 5-of-5 clip, said.
Fajardo were among the Philippines' bigs who took turns in trying to contain Dominican star Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
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The San Miguel big man mentioned that the squad was focused on their own game plan, and not whether it could match up well with NBA-level counterparts.
"Hindi ako nakikipagsukatan kay Karl o sa ibang players. Gusto ko lang makatulong sa team. Kung ano ipapagawa ni coach sa akin, gagawin ko," the six-time PBA MVP shared.
With a quick turnaround before their face-off against Angola on Sunday, the Gilas veterans remain positive that they can get a more favorable outcome as long as they forget what happened on Friday and turn their attention to the African powerhouse team.
"Kailangan naming mag-move on. Basta maglaro lang kami as a team, ilabas lang namin ang gameplan," Fajardo said.
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