Gilas Pilipinas may have absorbed a stinging 90-85 defeat at the hands of Lebanon in its opening assignment in the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 but coach Chot Reyes said it was still a good learning experience for the young crew, especially for their big men.

Gilas struggled heavily on the defensive end, trying to contain Lebanon’s big but quick guards led by Wael Arakji and Sergio El Darwich and agile but sweet-shooting bigs in naturalized player Jonathan Arlege and center Hayk Gyokchyan.

The Filipino big men were actually the target of the Lebanese point of attacks as the guards consistently drove towards the basket if faced against the likes of Geo Chiu, Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo in the perimeter. 

If they are guarding at the paint, Lebanon’s big men will either try to pound the ball on the post or stretch their range and shoot from the outside.

According to Reyes, Gilas, as a team, should get use to defending such combination of skill sets from their opponents if they wish to thrive in the international stage

“First of all, it’s not a question of not only our bigs defending those shooting bigs but our ability for all of our guys to pick out those shooters. It’s a learning experience for our bigs to be able to help inside of the penetration from the guards of Lebanon and still, at the same time, get out and defend their men from the outside,” said the national team mentor.

That’s one reason why despite the tough loss, Reyes is elated with the exposure the young Gilas core is getting which will definitely help them in their development as a player and the team’s preparation for the FIBA 2023 World Cup.

“Like I said, continuous development and learning. What do we have? Our power forwards Carl Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao have played a total of one year in college. It’s a huge, huge experience for them,” added Reyes.

“Geo Chiu isn’t even the starter of his collegiate team so you can imagine the learning he can get from this experience,” he furthered.

As early as their first game in the Asia Cup, Reyes already likes what he is seeing from the Gilas bigs. Tamayo remained impressive with his 15 points performance in the loss, even anchoring the huge 14-1 uprising for the Filipinos in the final frame. Chiu, Navarro and Quiambao, for their part, showed flashes of their potential during some of the crucial stretches of the match.

“Like I said, very pleased with their progress and their abilities to fight it out. Sure, the Lebanese players were very skilled but that’s the only way to learn,” said Reyes

“I think the most important thing, Poy Erram’s defensive presence is big for us. We could not play him a lot in the first half because of his three quick fouls. But I think that was the important factor there. Very pleased with Will Navarro’s defense as well. That is what I was looking for from that guy,” he added.