Gilas Pilipinas wins tuneup game against PBA Selection

In the end, coach Chot Reyes sounded very sincere in thanking good buddy Tim Cone for the workout his Gilas Pilipinas squad got Sunday night in the PBA All-Star Game.
“I’d like to show my appreciation to coach Tim,” Reyes said after his Nationals – even with Marcus Douthit in the lineup – scored a 101-93 decision of the PBA Selection in the annual spectacle at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
“It may just be one game, but to us (Philippine Five), it means a lot,” Reyes said after the game that had a lot more defense than the one that happened last season and ended in a 124-all tie. “They defended us well, kept showing us different looks.
“They run stuff that we will only see in international competitions,” Reyes continued. “This game can really help us.”
Gary David and Jeff Chan presided upon a hot third quarter for the Nationals, who zoomed to an 80-62 lead only for the Selection to again make a game out of it in the fourth period.
The Nationals started once-a-week practices a month ago and are playing their first game together since winning the silver medal in the Fiba-Asia Championship in Manila last August.
That second place finish behind regional power Iran put the Philippines back in the World Cup scene for the first time in 36 years. The Filipinos will play in Spain in August before going to South Korea for the Asian Games where they have a good shot at the gold medal.
Chan fired 17 points and David finished with 15. The duo also combined for seven triple conversions with David going on to win MVP of the Game honors.
There were three new faces in the Gilas lineup this time. Aside from Douthit, new additions Beau Belga, Jared Dillinger and former PBA Rookie of the Year Paul Lee played, with Lee, the Rain or Shine point guard, impressing Cone the most.
“I think he would be a great addition to the Gilas lineup,” Cone said later. “His great ball handling and outside shooting can really break down defenses.
“He broke our defense quite easily a number of times out there tonight.”
Reyes, as usual, shuffled his men regularly, using different combinations to scuttle the equally talented PBA side.
And like in the Fiba-Asia, there was no one man who really stood out, only the team as a whole.
“The entire team knows that it’s not about minutes,” Reyes said. “The last thing on their minds is minutes. They just want to be able to contribute and do what’s needed for the team. It’s a good start for the year.”
Both squads spent most of the first half feeling each other out before Jason Castro, June Mar Fajardo and David presided upon one hot streak that had the Nationals zooming to a seven-point lead late in the second quarter.
Ranidel de Ocampo scored the layup that opened up that 18-point advantage for the Nationals.
While Lee did show he deserves a spot in the National team, Marcio Lassiter and Greg Slaughter, who three weeks ago begged off from joining the pool, showed that they, too, could be of great Philippine team use by spearheading the Selection.