Gilas Pilipinas emerged as one of the bright spots for Philippine sports in this pandemic-struck year.
The men's national basketball team went perfect across the two windows of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers where young guns were able to showcase their arsenal.
With a mix of veterans and emerging stalwarts, Gilas cruised to a blazing start in the first window, pummeling host Indonesia, 100-70, to open its Group A campaign last February.
Before heading to the Japan B. League, Thirdy Ravena powered the Nationals' offense as he erupted with 23 points off the bench to go with eight rebounds and three assists while PBA standouts Roger Pogoy and CJ Perez added 16 and 11 markers, respectively.
New bloods
Despite the Covid-19 fear, FIBA decided to hold the second window in November in different Middle East capital cities under the bubble concept popularized by the NBA and PBA.
Gilas and the rest of Group A were assigned to play in Manama, Bahrain.
While PBA stars such as Perez, Kiefer Ravena and Christian Standhardinger expressed their willingness to join the PH squad after getting eliminated in the Philippine Cup, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) opted not to invite players from the professional ranks.
SBP president Al Panlilio explained then that they have "always wanted to start forming a core of younger players in preparation for 2023 (World Cup)" while his special assistant Ryan Gregorio stressed on the need for the PBA players to rest.
A 16-man training pool was formed, featuring Gilas cadets Isaac Go, Matt and Mike Nieto, Allyn Bulanadi and Rey Suerte, collegiate standouts and Angelo Kouame who was still under naturalization process at that time.
Jong Uichico was chosen as head coach with Gilas program head Tab Baldwin, Boyet Fernandez, Alton Lister, Sandro Soriano and Andrei Tolentino making up the coaching staff.
After its training in Laguna also in a bubble setup, Gilas headed to Manama to take on Thailand twice.
Time to shine
Sans PBA players, it was a great time for the Gilas cadets and collegiate stars to shine on the international stage.
Incoming Ateneo player Dwight Ramos was called "Mr. Perfect" for his flawless game that towed the Filipinos to a 93-61 rout of the Thais.
Ramos hit 20 points built on a 5-of-5 shooting from the field including 2-of-2 from the three while also going 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
The 20-year-old guard also tallied seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Juan Gomez De Liaño and Justin Baltazar played stellar as well with 12 points apiece.
It was Javi Gomez De Liaño who took the spotlight in his second game for Gilas, firing 19 points highlighted by a 4-of-4 shooting from deep to spark the 93-69 romp.
Juan sustained his fine form to score 14 points while Ramos chipped in 13 markers and Matt Nieto added 12 and two assists before getting sidelined by a sprained ankle.
With the sweep of Thailand, Gilas seized the group lead with a perfect 3-0 record, ahead of rival South Korea with a 2-0 slate.
"We were able to get two wins, so everybody walks away feeling very good about themselves," said Baldwin.
Need for reinforcements
After witnessing the success of the PBA Philippine Cup bubble, FIBA selected Clark as the host of Group A and Group C in the third and last window in February 2021.
With South Korea expected to be back in the fray after skipping the second window due to health concerns, Gilas is looking at getting reinforcements from the PBA.
"The best players are in the PBA and in FIBA competitions, you need the experience playing internationally. It's good that these 14 young men got an experience this window but in the tougher competitions, you still need the veterans to come in and contribute," said Panlilio.
Baldwin shared the same sentiment, saying: "There's always gonna be room for and a need for experience in our team, if we expect to compete at the elite level."
No problem is seen to arise when the national team calls up the pros as the PBA is still on the break during the third window where the Filipinos will battle the Koreans twice and the Indonesians led by Lester Prosper and Brandon Jawato once.
Kai Sotto also signified his intention to play for the Philippines in the February window, although it is still not clear if he will suit up as his stint with Team Ignite in the NBA G-League overlaps with the Asia Cup qualifiers.
Gilas will only need to win at least one game in the final window to secure a spot in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup.