Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes remembers and smiles.
Thirty-eight years ago in the US NCAA Final, Villanova coach Rollie Massimino crafted an overall strategy which the Wildcats executed to perfection in stunning Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas 66-64 in what had since been known as the ‘Perfect Game.’
The Wildcats hit 22-of-28 from the field for a shooting percentage of 78.6, went 22-of-27 from the free throw line, including 9-of-10 in the second half, and designed a defensive dragnet that held Ewing without a freebie the entire game.
The game is widely considered one of the greatest upsets in US college basketball history, and the second biggest point-spread reversal in championship game lore.
As he lounges on a folding chair at the sideline of the PhilSports Arena just before Gilas Pilipinas’ first team practice last Tuesday, already having wrapped up their Basketball World Cup 2023 preparatory friendlies against Ivory Coast, Montenegro and Mexico, Reyes was asked if a ‘perfect game’ like the one eight-seed Villanova pulled off on April 1, 1985 would be needed to beat Dominican Republic.
“Something like that,” Reyes replied, nodding with a grin and adding something that he emphatically said cannot see print.
The Philippines kicks off its bid to earn passage to the 2024 Paris Olympics – which it can achieve by becoming the highest Asian finisher in the world meet – against FIBA Americas qualifier Dominican Republic and NBA All-Star and Minnesota Timberwolves big Karl-Anthony Towns at 8 p.m., Friday, at the 55,000-capacity Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
Towns, whom Reyes described as a “legitimate NBA All-Star and first-team player,” will be the Filipinos’ biggest problem, a predicament that had Reyes looking back to a defensive-minded forward who played for him before.
“Yung katulad ni Ranidel de Ocampo, pwede rin ilagay kay Towns,” said Reyes. (“Somebody like Ranidel de Ocampo for defense.”)
Though giving up considerable height and weight to Towns, de Ocampo was noted for his defensive ferocity and was an impregnable wall, along with Marc Pingris, when Gilas Pilipinas, also then coached by Reyes, beat archnemesis South Korea in the semifinal of the FIBA Asian Championship in 2013 to clinch a return ticket to the World Cup in Spain the following year.
Against Dominican Republic, Gilas Pilipinas may have to borrow a page from Villanova’s book of success against seven-foot Ewing and Villanova back then, alternating June Mar Fajardo, AJ Edu, Japeth Aguilar, and Jamie Malonzo to slow down Towns a bit for them to launch an ultra-efficient counter-offense – a ‘perfect game,’ in short.
Gilas Pilipinas and Dominican Republic are bracketed with world No. 10 Italy and Angola in Group A, where the top two teams will advance to the second round against their counterparts from Group B (Serbia, China, South Sudan, and Puerto Rico).
The Nationals face Angola on August 27 and Italy on August 29, both at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, needing at least two wins to get a shot at an Olympic berth.