FIBA Asia Championships 2013: A Rising Sun (Philippines - Japan Round 2 Match Up)

Gilas Pilipinas (2 - 1) def. Japan (1 - 2) 90 - 71

Once again, Marcus Douthit dominated the Japanese front line.
(credits to interaksyon.com)

  I'm pretty sure a lot of you know how Japan is often called, "The Land Of The Rising Sun".

  That is what Filipinos wanted Gilas to do. They wanted them to rise.

  After all, they came into this game with the memory of a 13 point meltdown against Chinese Taipei still fresh in their minds. Also fresh in their minds is Gary David's recent struggles. Fresh in their minds is the amount of hate they have been mired with after losing against the country they have been rivals with not only in the basketball court, but also in the political stage.

  Well, after this game, it was the Philippines that looked like the land of the rising sun. Every bit of it.


  Gilas Pilipinas would finish their first game in Group E action with a mighty convincing win against one of the better teams in the tourney in Japan, 90 - 71. The game started off close, although come the 3rd quarter, Gilas would pull away establishing a 24 point lead entering the 4th quarter.

  Sound familiar?

  No worries though. Sure Kosuke Takeuchi (17 points, 9 rebounds) and J.R Sakuragi (19 points, 13 rebounds) played as if they were Sakuragi and Gori in Slam Dunk, but it's better than their shooters being free to snipe as if they had all day to do so.

  This was the win Gilas exactly needed before entering a gargantuan showdown against Qatar. It was a resounding win which surely sent a message to every contender out there, especially those Taiwanese which stole the game away from us last Saturday.

  No one needed this one though, more than Gary David.

Just a priceless moment. Gary, welcome back. Time to explode.
(credits to sir Nuki Sabio)

  Gary's been the subject of much criticism these past few days. After all, he's shot an ATROCIOUS (to say the least, and this isn't even by his standards), 11%, yes, ELEVEN percent from the field. People were saying statements such as, "Pang PBA lang yan" "Buwaya kasi eh" "LAOS KA NA DAVID!"

  This tweet by sir Carlo Pamintuan pretty much sums up what I felt about all the criticism Gary was getting.

Gets ko naman yung asaran sa PBA. normal lang yun, pero Pilipinas ang pinaguusapan dito e. magkakampi tayong lahat. Bakit kayo nanglalaglag?
— Carlo Pamintuan (@carlo_pamintuan) August 3, 2013

  Some people were already giving up on Gary. I wasn't. I'm pretty sure millions of others weren't also. We were anticipating an explosion anytime soon from El Granada. Ala Powerade - BMeg Game 2 of the 2011 - 2012 PBA All Filipino Cup Quarterfinals.

  I guess we could say this could pretty much be the start of it.

  At the 3:10 mark, Gary hit a shot. He finally hit a shot. After 9 straight misses dating back to the game against Saudi Arabia, he finally hit a shot. Then, he would hit another one, this time a corner pocket three.

  Uh - oh.

  Oh yes.

  Gilas Pilipinas is rising. Slowly, they are molding into a team that doesn't care whether they face China or not in the quarterfinals. Whatever happens, they will take it. They are ready for whatever may face them, and FIBA Asia better watch out.

 Gary David is rising. He's slowly getting into his rhythm. His confidence is returning. He has one whole nation behind is back.

  Maghanda na kayo, mga koponan ng FIBA Asia, at sasabog na ang El Granada.

They're about to catch fire. The other teams better be wary. MAGLILIYAB NA.
(credits to sir Nuki Sabio)