By JONAS TERRADO
Coach Mark Dickel is anticipating a tight battle as Gilas Pilipinas meets Indonesia to kick off its 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers debut on Sunday at the Mahaka Arena in Jakarta.
While Gilas goes into the match set at 6 p.m. local time (7 p.m. Philippine time) with the goal of scoring a convincing win, Dickel is not taking the Indonesians lightly even if they are reeling from a stinging loss to South Korea last Thursday.
Indonesia, which fell 109-76 in that contest, will also play sans a homegrown player with the status of former PBA import Lester Prosper for naturalization remains in limbo.
But Dickel also believes that his team can get the job done based on what he saw from the two-week practices Gilas held in preparation for the current window.
“I expect it to be a close game, a difficult game, but it will be really good for us,” said Dickel. “I feel like the last couple of weeks of practice, we made huge strides. Sunday’s a chance to prove that.”
Dickel’s tempered expectations as his players, led by team captain Kiefer Ravena, have a goal of going into Jakarta with a winning margin of at least 30 points.
But Indonesia showed some promising glimpses during its match against the South Koreans, leading 27-21 at the end of the first quarter behind guard Abraham Grahita.
The team of former Gilas coach Rajko Toroman, however, failed to sustain the momentum in the next three quarters, leading to the lopsided result.
“Just the ball movement, they get really good shots. They don’t turn the ball over. They’re disciplined. These are all things that are difficult to play against, especially if they hit shots,” said Dickel.
“We gotta try and take them out of their patterns and sets a little bit and make it harder for their shooters. They get good shots. And especially playing at home, if they hit a few, we can be in trouble.
“So our whole focus is on what we’re gonna do defensively to take their offense away,” added the TNT KaTropa active consultant.
Ravena, CJ Perez, RR Pogoy, Troy Rosario and Poy Erram are likely to log the heavy minutes with their international experience.
Thirdy Ravena could get some significant playing time along with point guard Matt Nieto while Justin Chua and Isaac Go will share frontcourt duties with Erram.
