Thursday, August 14, 2014
USA coach on Batang Gilas: If they had a big man, they’d be a much better team
Despite handing the Philippines a 60-point loss, members of the United States national youth basketball team lauded Batang Gilas for their gallant showing in the FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Dubai, UAE.
The Americans crushed the Filipinos, 124-64, in a group match last Monday. Batang Gilas went on to bow out of contention after being beaten by France, 86-57, in the Round of 16 last Tuesday.
Team USA guard Terrance Ferguson, who scored 15 points in their victory, thought that Batang Gilas was one of the toughest tests they’ve ever faced in the tournament so far.
“Oh they’re tough, they’re really tough. I even talked to them after the game and told them they were probably the toughest team we played against,” Ferguson told USA Basketball’s website. “They’re always on. They’re running full speed the whole game. I don’t think they get tired, I really don’t think so.
“If they had a couple more inches, it would have been a great game.”
The Americans have steamrolled the competition so far, with convincing wins over Greece (83-73), Angola (99-56) and the Philippines before routing Japan (122-38) in the Round of 16.
USA coach Don Showalter said that Batang Gilas would have been more formidable if they had a big man.
“Their quickness, I don’t see a team that’s going to be any quicker than they are,” Showalter said. “If they had a big man, they’d be a much better team from a rebounding standpoint.”
No member of Batang Gilas stands more than 6’3″, with starting center Mike Nieto standing at 6’2″.
Guard Tyus Battle is also impressed with Batang Gilas and lauded how hard Batang Gilas plays.
“They played really hard. They have some really good guards. I was just impressed at how hard they played. They were diving on the floor, tapping the ball back out, fighting for loose balls, they played really hard,” Battle said.
The defending champion Americans will face China in the quarterfinals, while Batang Gilas will next play Argentina in the classification phase.
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