COACH Chot Reyes said he was surprised Gilas Pilipinas was able to match world’s no. 18 Montenegro toe to toe in the first half of their tuneup game at the Philsports Arena Sunday evening, before NBA star Nikola Vucevic of the Chicago Bulls took matters into his own hands starting in the second half.
The 6’10” Vucevic took charge during the third period, pouring in 11 of his 18-point output to put Montenegro way ahead en route to a 102-87 victory.
“I was surprised na dumikit tayo nang ganoon. Ang lakas ng team na kinalaban natin,” said Reyes on Gilas, noting some progress.
Vucevic, who unloaded three triples, got big help from Bojan Dubljevic with 16 points, along with naturalized player Kendrick Perry (15), and Vladimir Mhailovic (12).
For the second straight tuneup game, the Filipinos fumbled the ball lots of times. Against Montenegro, they had 19 errors, which followed an 18-turnover game against Ivory Coast the night before.
Gilas actually led, 22-16, early in the second quarter and relinquished it at 33-29.
Costly turnovers took its toll on Gilas, with 12 committed in the first 20 minutes, five coming from NBA star Jordan Clarkson by the time the first half ended, with Montenegro ahead, 44-42.
In the third period, Montenegro banked on its height and experience and just let Vucevic dominate the first 10 minutes of the second half.
From there, Montenegro went 8 of 9 from the field, to go with 8 assists, as it left Gilas behind with a 68-53 edge at the five-minute mark.
“When we started the third quarter with three straight turnovers, then they scored two three-pointers for an 8-0 run, that turned the tide. When we give good quality teams like Montenegro a lead like that, it will be tough to recover,” said Reyes.
“They have to help on penetration, protect the rim, and still close out on their men when they are shooting from the outside. But it’s not totally their responsibility, their teammates must help as well and rotate to shut those guys down,” opined Reyes on the inside games of Japeth Aguilar, Kai Sotto and JuneMar Fajardo during the time that Vucevic was leading a run.
Clarkson led Gilas with 27 points on 9 of 9 free throw shooting, with 5 assists. But he also picked up a total 8 miscues.
Fajardo added 19 points, but got into foul trouble early, while Dwight Ramos had 13. Sotto failed to score in 14 minutes.
Reyes utilized a 14-man roster against the Montenegrins, with Ray Parks and Thirdy Ravena left sitting on the bench, and Calvin Oftana given some minutes.