Why Gilas Pilipinas Shouldn't Take Indonesia Easily?

The last time Gilas Pilipinas faced Indonesia as part of the 2021 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup qualifiers, the Filipinos walked out of Indonesia with a 100-70 win against the home team.

For the third window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, Gilas will play one game against Indonesia on top of two games against longtime nemesis, the South Koreans. But for Gilas Pilipinas Head Coach Jong Uichico, the fact that Gilas previously beat Indonesia by 30 points won't because the third window will be a different ball game even though Gilas will be enjoying a homecourt advantage.

On Saturday's episode of Bull By the Horn by Benny Benitez, Uichico pointed out that during the previous encounter when Gilas beat Indonesia under Coach Mark Dickel, a handful of Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) players played as part of the pool that played in Indonesia. That pool even had a Thirdy Ravena, who led the team with 23 points and eight rebounds.

For the final window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, Gilas will face a different Indonesian squad coached by former Gilas Pilipinas coach in Rajko Toroman.

For Uichico, the current Gilas pool that is training inside the Calamba bubble will be a factor. "Now, we're all-amateur. Maybe or maybe without a naturalized player. We cannot say (yet)," Uichico said.

This time around, Lester Prosper, the naturalized player of Indonesia, will be a problem for the Filipinos as he missed time the last time both played. But more than having Prosper back in the line-up against the Filipinos, the experience that the Indonesians have in playing in the international scene is one reason why Gilas shouldn't take Indonesia for granted.

"They are a different team now because they've been practicing together for so long. Indonesia had a good show in the Bahrain bubble. We are young but not experienced in international competitions. They (Indonesia) are experienced. They are already matured in their game, plus their naturalized player, plus they've been practicing for so long," Uichico explained.

"Look at this from a different perspective," indeed was the reminder of the Gilas Pilipinas head coach.

In the second window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup last November, Indonesia scored a 90-76 victory over Thailand. In that game, Prosper finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds, and two steals.

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