Italian mentor Luca Banchi offered nothing but appreciation for Gilas Pilipinas after the Filipinos pulled off an 89-80 win over the Latvian side in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Riga Arena Thursday, July 4.

Banchi, the winner of the Best Coach award in the 2023 FIBA World Cup where the Latvians finished fifth, heaped praises on the Nationals who delivered a terrific performance on both ends of the floor against the home team which was initially pegged as the heavy favorites being the world No. 6 squad.

“Excellent performance from the very beginning, they were very sharp, they imposed their physicality,” said Banchi in the FIBA post-game conference. “They showed sharpness to find good solutions on their offense.” 

Anchored by Justin Brownlee, who scattered 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, Gilas put up a masterclass offensively and defensively as it onced seized a 26-point lead heading into the final frame.

It didn't help that Latvia shot poorly at 10-of-32 from beyond the arc.

Kai Sotto, June Mar Fajardo, Chris Newsome and Dwight Ramos also put up great numbers on the floor for Gilas.

Latvia failed to duplicate its dominant display in its opening game against Georgia, 83-55, despite the double-digit efforts from Rodion Kurucs (18) and Davis Bertans (10). The two NBA players joined Kristers Zoriks (10) and Janis Streinieks (10) in leading the Latvian’s offense.

“[We] better to talk about their (Gilas) defensive system not only offensive system, of course offensively tonight they obviously showed great performance,” Banchi continued.

“But I also believed defensively, their system, their size, and their lineup, typology, closed the paint very well and it cost 40 more shots in three points and we only scored 10,” Banchi added. 

Still, the 58-year-old tactician took the defeat as a learning experience for Latvia which is gunning for its return in the quadrennial meet since its first and only appearance in the 1936 Berlin Games.

“From our side, this is a good lesson as we are in the tournament. That game can help us set the tone in such a tournament,” Banchi continued. “You know, probably the result yesterday Croatia had an amazing win against Slovenia and today they lost to New Zealand with a team who arrived in the tournament fresh and like the Philippines.”

"Unfortunately we lost from the beginning. We have to congratulate them because our opponent played a very good game. On the other hand it's just a matter of rest and focus on the next step of the tournament,” he added.

Artūrs Žagars might return in semifinals

According to Banchi, key player Artūrs Žagars might play for the Latvians in the semifinals after suffering an injury in the game with Georgia.

Zagars, who starred for Latvia in the FIBA World Cup, was seen on the sidelines against Gilas.

“He suffered an injury yesterday, we went for images this morning and medical staff suggest that to protect him we suppose to overcome this in the semifinal and playing him tonight is too risky,” Banchi added.

The 24-year-old shifty guard tallied eight points, three rebounds and six assists in their win against Georgia.