ALLAN THE MAN

With less than four days to go before the 27th FIBA Asia Championship tips off on August 1, PBA coaches see the need for some adjustments on the part of the Philippine national men’s basketball team for the competition.

Veteran international campaigner Rajko Toroman, who serves as coaching consultant for Barako Bull, sees the need for Gilas Pilipinas to create more chances for their big men.

“They have yet to establish their inside game. For them to have better chances, Marcus Douthit and Jume Mar Fajardo should be given more touches and more opportunities to score inside,” said Toroman.

Neither Douthit nor Fajardo scored in double-figures in Gilas’ 92-89 victory over Kazakhstan in their final tuneup match last Friday. The Philippine team relied heavily on their guards on the offensive end, with Jayson Castro and Jeff Chan scoring 20 points apiece, Larry Fonacier adding 14, and Jimmy Alapag posting 12.

For his part, GlobalPort coach Junel Baculi saw the need to tweak the team’s defenses.

“In my opinion, we are on the right track,” wrote Baculi in a text message to InterAKTV. “Just a little adjustment on our defense, specifically on the pick-and-pop plays of our opponents.

“More and more big men are improving on their pull up jumpers with range, too.”

Kazakhstan’s ace big man Anton Ponomarev burned Gilas from the outside in their tuneup game. The 6-foot-10 forward scored four three-pointers in the first half off pick-and-pop opportunities.

But the Philippine team was able to make an adjustment in the second half of that match, with Ponomarev scoring just two points after the break with Gilas ace defender Marc Pingris hounding him.

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