Gilas Pilipinas knew what New Zealand was capable of, yet still failed to contain the Tall Blacks in their 94-86 defeat.
Dwight Ramos admitted they were not able to handle the taller and faster Kiwis, who built an early lead with three-pointers before holding off the Filipinos’ comeback.
“It’s like coach said in the beginning of the games, we were coming out; we know what we’re supposed to do, but we’re still shell-shocked,” Ramos said in the post-game presser.
“You know they’re going to shoot threes, you know they’re going to play fast, and you know we already knew that, but they still did it.”
The silver lining was Gilas’ spirited second-half run, fueled by Justin Brownlee’s 37 points.
“In the second half, we’re playing the way we’re supposed to. I mean, I’m just hoping that we carry this momentum to the next game,” Ramos said ahead of their crucial match against Iraq.
Against New Zealand, Gilas trailed by as many as 18 points, 55-37, in the second quarter before cutting the deficit to four, 68-64, in the third. The Tall Blacks, however, regained control to secure the win.
Ramos finished with 19 points, while June Mar Fajardo added 11 markers and four rebounds.
Watch the press conference here:
The post Ramos: Gilas ‘shell shocked’ in loss to Tall Blacks first appeared on Fastbreak.
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