Manila OQT: Breaking down the Philippines versus France

MANILA, Philippines – The opening day of the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila features some of the top sides going at each other early on.

At 6 pm, Canada battles Turkey while in the main match at 9 pm, France takes on the home team, the Philippines.

(LIVE: Gilas Pilipinas vs France – FIBA OQT Manila)

What’s at stake?

The early win and a step ahead of the others. it’s an opportunity to stamp one’s class and put pressure on other teams to win right away and not depend on the outcome of other matches.

A win for France and they’ll most likely take down New Zealand then probably face Turkey in the quarterfinals. The French have noted that Canada is their biggest nemesis to their Olympic dreams. A loss could put them on an early collision course with Canada. Although they will have Nicolas Batum in uniform by then, why take the chance?

A win for Gilas will give them much needed confidence to face New Zealand. It will propel this team to even bigger heights. A loss will make the next match versus New Zealand a must-win situation. 

Is there pressure on both teams?

Yes, of course. For France, they are the tournament favorites. Even without their other NBA stars, they still have the talent to get the job done in defeating the Philippines and the field and heading off to Rio.

While some of the French players, Mickael Gelabele in particular, have openly said that they expect to win their Olympic qualifier opener, they know it isn’t going to be easy. Teammate Florent Pietrus alluded to how their football counterparts in Euro 2016 took care of business by sending unheralded Iceland, 5-2, in the semi-finals last Monday, July 4.

“We saw how Iceland stunned England in the quarterfinals. It was a reality check for France to not underestimate Iceland. That is why in the first half, they wanted to bury them (the French football team did going up 4-0 after the first 45 minutes of play). We know it is the same here. We cannot take the Philippines lightly. They are at home and we know what the homecourt advantage is all about.”

The Philippines faces pressure as well. After all, this is what was fought for — the homecourt advantage that was in full display during the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships where roaring crowds willed and cheered the team on to victory. Since the formation of the new Gilas program in 2008, this is the second time the Filipinos are given a chance to go to the Summer Games. The Philippines missed out in London in 2012. The first seat to Rio was missed in Changsha, China. Now is as good as it will ever get.

They know that a loss now will put a severe crimp on plans on booking a sems seat so they will throw everything, Andray Blatche, Terrence Romeo, the kitchen sink, and the crowd at France.

Said Philippines coach Tab Baldwin: “The bigger the stakes, the bigger the hurt when you fail. Of course, the bigger the joy when you succeed.” 

How will this battle go?

This game will be won on who can control that shaded lane and who can impose their style of play.

Explained Baldwin, “We can be a decent dribble drive team but it is predicated on the ability to get the rim and collapse defenses. The big European sides do not collapse easily because they don’t have to. They have size to intimidate shooters. So we needed a foil for the dribble drive offense and came up something we believe in. When we learned that we had carte blanche to players we could get, we had to modify our playing systems to exploit the talent.

It goes through Andray Blatche a lot and he’s been superb really. In terms of adjustment we are really focusing on ball screen defense. When teams have a limited time of preparation, they rely on the ball screen offenses and defenses. We spent a lot of time on that but there’s a tidal wave of bad habits. We’ve had some time to re-develop into good habits. I suspect we made ground. We are not good as defensively as the team could do ball screens for everyday of their lives. It will be a challenge for our defenses to shut down Park and De Colo and others.

France even without NBA stars Rudy Gobert and Ian Mahinmi still have the size to control that lane. Although they surprisingly have only one natural center in 7-footer Kim Tillie, Boris Diaw and Joffrey Lauvergne can swing over. 

Although explosive swingman Nicolas Batum arrived late Monday evening, he will not be able to suit up until July 7th when his new NBA contract with the Charlotte Hornets kicks in.

France coach Vincent Collet knows that he is short-handed so he will have to make the best use of his bench. He knows he is up against a smaller but quicker team that makes use of the 3-point shot as well as any other European side.

“I think we have to control their speed and take advantage of our height,” said Collet. “Their system finds them attacking the basket. We have to stop them from doing that and of course, watch out for their 3-point shooters.” – Rappler.com