MANILA, Philippines – Even after its huge win over the Tall Blacks of New Zealand, Gilas Pilipinas still needs a victory in its last game in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers. 

And up next for the Philippines is Hong Kong on Sunday, November 24 — nine months since their last duel where Gilas hacked out a 94-64 rout in an away game.

It’s easy to think that Hong Kong would be lucky not to get mauled again by at least 30 points as Gilas Pilipinas vies to maintain its hold of the top spot in the Group B standings, while giving the home crowd something to cheer about one more time after packing the Mall of Asia Arena in its thrilling win over New Zealand, 93-89, on Thursday, November 21.

But in a bid to improve its chances this window, Hong Kong replaced half of its lineup, leaving holdovers 6-foot-8 center Duncan Reid, 6-foot-1 Oliver Xu, 6-foot-3 Shiu Wah Leung, 5-foot-10 Ricky Yang, 6-foot-2 Tin Chi Hon, and 6-foot-1 forward Sui Hung Yeung.

The six who were replaced hardly made any significant contribution in the previous window, with two of them averaging just 2 points, one averaging 1.5 points, and the rest going scoreless in two games. 

There are two noticeable upgrades that new Hong Kong head coach Wing Leung Chu has done to his roster. 

The first is to add size to help out Reid, who often in the past, found himself the only legitimate big man in the Hong Kong lineup. 

Coach Wing reinstated 6-foot-7 center Yuet-Yeung Pok, 6-foot-3 power forward Tang Chi Hang, 6-foot-3 guard Yip Yiu Pong, and 6-foot-4 forward Leung Ka Hin, who have all seen action for the national team in previous FIBA competitions. 

The second upgrade is to build a core around players who have played for or are part of the incoming PBA Commissioner’s Cup guest squad, the Hong Kong Eastern. 

This guarantees Hong Kong at least some semblance of cohesion.

These changes, however, did not help the squad yet in its first game this window as Chinese Taipei blasted Hong Kong, 85-55, on Thursday in Taipei City.

With the recent loss, Hong Kong has now dropped all its three games by an average margin of 33 points. 

The Hongkongers were dominated from the opening tip-off by host Taiwanese, who went on to open a 20-7 lead with still over three minutes left in the first quarter. 

Chinese Taipei built its biggest lead at 40 points, 62-22, a little past the halfway mark of the third quarter. 

The Taiwanese had 14 steals and forced Hong Kong into 20 turnovers, and the only real positive for the Hongkongers was that they outrebounded Chinese Taipei, 41-39.

The bad news for Hong Kong is that they may not be able to do the same against the Filipinos, who outrebounded the big Kiwis, 44-31, last Thursday.

On paper, the encounter on Sunday appears to be a total mismatch. In reality, on the floor of the MOA Arena, it likely will still be the case as Hong Kong does not have enough to keep in step with a Gilas Pilipinas side boasting clear superiority in length, heft, speed, and skills.

In their first encounter last February, Gilas Pilipinas struggled to find its rhythm in the first half, but it still ended in the Filipinos’ favor, 41-37, at the break. 

The visiting Filipinos, however, tightened the noose in the second half with a suffocating pressure defense that deflated and took the fight out of Hong Kong. 

Gilas Pilipinas exploded for 53 points while limiting the host team to just 27 in the second half.

The Philippines was dominant in every aspect of the game. 

Gilas Pilipinas’ size advantage was evident as they scored 50 points in the paint compared to just 22 by Hong Kong. The Philippines also had more second chance points, 22-10.

Kai Sotto anchored the Filipino frontline by grabbing 15 out of the 56 total rebounds of Gilas, 24 more than Hong Kong’s haul. This resulted in 21 fastbreak points for the Philippines. 

Sotto and June Mar Fajardo may just be too much for Reid and Pok, who will also have to deal with Japeth Aguilar, Carl Tamayo, and Kevin Quiambao. 

With or without Justin Brownlee, in case coach Tim Cone decides to rest him and play Ange Kouame instead, Gilas Pilipinas will still have enough firepower to pull away and even give floor time to collegiate stars Quiambao and Mason Amos. 

And with Scottie Thompson back in harness, the Gilas Pilipinas backcourt will prove to be equally nightmarish as the Filipino frontline for Hong Kong . 

The game against Hong Kong will be the last match for the year on home soil for Gilas Pilipinas. So it would be a fitting gift for the holidays for Filipino fans if the Nationals can put on a show and score an emphatic win over Hong Kong. – Rappler.com