MANILA - The Philippines have raised their status on the world stage these past few years after impressive showings in continental and world level tournaments. The team known as Gilas Pilipinas finished in second place back-to-back in the 2013 and 2015 FIBA Asia Championships, qualified for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, finished on the podium in the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup, and were highly competitive in the 2016 FIBA OQT.

It’s no secret that the Philippines have been regarded as not only a hotbed of basketball energy but also a potential contender on a global scale. Their most recent exploits at the FIBA Asia Challenge 2016, however, have given some folks at home reason to to be anxious.

Gilas Pilipinas lost all but one of their games in that tournament, defeating Kazakhstan on Day 5 after successive losses to India, Chinese Taipei and China. The Filipinos ended their campaign on the wrong end of a blowout at the hands of Jordan on Day 6.

Most will say the main reason for Gilas’s struggles can be traced to their being formed of young players fresh from university and green with inexperience at the Asian level. The team’s average age was just 24 years old with no naturalized player and just one taller than 2.00m.

The result? The Philippines failed to advance to the Quarter-Finals for the first time in the tournament’s history.

Despite this, Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin, who remained in Manila and lent the team’s tactical reins to the youthful coach Josh Reyes, takes pride in how the team fared.

"I'm proud of them,” Baldwin said. “I’m proud they had the courage to go into that environment because that's not easy for the kids and that coaching staff.”

Baldwin is confident that the Gilas players, formerly known as the Cadets, have benefitted significantly form their experience in Tehran.

"I thought they grew,” Baldwin added. “They learned as they went through the tournament, and that’s exactly what we sent them there for.”

Of course, coach Tab, who has had a decorated international career, acknowledges that Gilas had to make do with the prevailing circumstances unique to the Philippines, where the professional league, the PBA, was still ongoing concurrent to the FIBA Asia Challenge.

“It's never ideal to have a national team that's a developmental exercise, but, really, what other options did we have?” Baldwin lamented. “We were unable to get PBA players.”

Current PBA star and national team darling Terrence Romeo echoed Baldwin’s sentiments and remained steadfast in his faith in the Gilas program.

“I am proud of the Gilas team that represented our country even if they’re all new,” Romeo said. “They need more time to improve their chemistry, but I’m sure it’ll all turn out well.”

Baldwin agrees as he helped in handpicking these players himself, knowing full well what their capabilities are.

“These are the kids that we believe have the potential to be the future Gilas, so it was very important that they get experience,” Baldwin said.

“They’re very talented, and I know they will go a long way,” Romeo concurred.

The recent results and future prospects notwithstanding, what was unmistakeable was the heart (puso) that Gilas showed despite going up against bigger and more seasoned opposition.

“I’m proud that they showed effort and desire and puso the whole time,” Baldwin said. “That's what we asked of them.”

FIBA