Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Gilas Pilipinas’ quest to reach the Rio Olympics ended in heartbreak, after falling to New Zealand, 89-80, in their must-win group phase match during the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) Wednesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Unable to follow up their stingy performance against France the night before, the Philippines fell flat against New Zealand.
Read: FIBA OQT: Road to Rio ends for Gilas Pilipinas after loss to New Zealand
“We needed to play better against – what now everybody sees – is a very good New Zealand team,” admitted Gilas coach Tab Badlwin. “We didn’t play our best basketball and that is on us; that is something that we will have to answer for.”
In Philippine guard Jayson Castro’s words, Gilas were “outhustled” and “outplayed” by the Tall Blacks.
Despite the loss, Baldwin says that the Philippines competed well in the OQT, but for him being able to put up a good fight is not enough.
Read: FIBA OQT: World No. 5 France bucks slow start to defeat Gilas Pilipinas
“We competed well in this tournament, but we don’t expect to come to big tournaments and compete,” said Baldwin. “We expect to come and get some wins and progress, especially when we’re at home.”
Baldwin says it is back to the drawing board, to figure out what they could do better moving on with the program and to take away the positives from this experience.
“It is a positive that we get this competitive experience for Philippine basketball players. But it is also an eye-opener for us to understand that we need a lot more of this if we expect to be successful at this level,” he said. “Now it’s about figuring out how we get the personnel and we get the experience.”
Even after absorbing the two bitter losses, Baldwin is confident that the Gilas program will benefit from their journey and should strive to play more against high-level opposition in the future.
Read: FIBA OQT: We proved Gilas had a chance vs. France, says Baldwin
“We need more of this, and this is the pathway, and trust me, there is no other pathway,” said the Gilas coach. “If you want to start winning at this level, you got to take much more beatings at this level to learn how to win at this level.”
