Despite getting beaten by 55 points, the Vietnam national basketball team relished the chance of playing against Gilas Pilipinas in their SEABA Championship encounter.
It was the fourth loss in five outings for Vietnam, a country where football is king and basketball is an afterthought. But coach Donte Lavar Hill didn’t mind the result.
“One of the things is our players are not used to playing in this kind of competition. This is the best competition our guys are probably playing in, so I told them to enjoy the moment, take advantage of it and live through it and give your best effort,” said Hill, an American who also coached local clubs in Vietnam.
Hill said he has always been fascinated by the Filipinos’ brand of game.
“I’ve been watching and keeping in contact on what visually they do. They do a good job on the dribble-drive. They’ve implemented it since 2007 and I know they’ve been doing that. I’m really impressed with their hunger. I’m really impressed with their intensity. They shoot the basketball really well,” he said.
Hill believes the Philippines is in the right track towards a berth in the World Cup and the Olympics.
“Of course, they’re looking at competing at a higher stage — the 2019 World Cup and the 2020 Olympics. Hopefully, what they kinda do is what they’re doing right now. They’re moving the ball well, they’re smarter and they open things up because they cannot play inside once they competed against American and European teams, these teams are most times bigger, stronger and faster. I like the direction of their basketball team,” Hill said.
“I actually do like their chances of making it to the world level. If they play their cards right, they defend the ball, they have a chance.”
But Hill thinks there are still things Gilas Pilipinas needs to work on to be able to compete against world-class teams.
“I think it will come on the guard play. If they can knock down open shots, that would be the key. Where they will struggle is the three and four spots — their versatility. Those guys did a great job rebounding and defending, but they need to be stretch defenders as well. If they can do that and knock down open shots, I think they have a chance,” he said.
