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Let's sit down and talk about Gilas Pilipinas, the fans, and a growing toxicity that is getting out of hand.
If you are the biggest, most popular ball club in the country, you are going to draw the loudest cheers, but you are also going to attract the bitterest detractors. That is just the nature of sports. It is completely understandable that the personnel of Barangay Ginebra will always receive a hefty share of hate from rival fans.
But lately, the criticism directed at head coach Tim Cone, Scottie Thompson, and RJ Abarrientos has morphed into something else entirely. It is no longer just typical sports banter. It has devolved into an unhealthy obsession where a vocal segment of the fanbase is actively praying for these guys to make a mistake and fail, completely ignoring the actual basketball being played.
The Scottie Thompson Witch Hunt
Let's look at the recent Gilas Pilipinas 82-81 overtime escape against Jordan. Almost immediately after the final buzzer, social media lit up with fans putting a negative spotlight on Scottie Thompson. People were screaming about his perceived lack of production and hyper-fixating on a five-second violation.
But if you actually put the pitchfork down and look beneath the surface, Thompson had his imprints all over that victory.
Scottie was the primary defender assigned to Jordan's naturalized star, Jalen Harris.
Under Thompson's watch, Harris shot a horrendous 3-of-16 from the field from the second quarter through overtime.
While CJ Perez was carving up defenders on the offensive end, Thompson was making life miserable for Harris, racking up deflections that completely disrupted Jordan's offense.
- 🔥 Check Out This ArticleWhen the dust settled, Thompson was one of only four Gilas players to post a positive rating on the floor, finishing with a stellar +13.Loading recommendation...
The other positive contributors were Perez (+16), Kevin Quiambao (+10), and AJ Edu (+5).
To look at those numbers and say Scottie didn't earn his minutes is simply ludicrous. Yet, the haters refuse to see it, just as they refuse to give Cone or Abarrientos any grace when they hit a bump in the road.
Assessing the Real Problems
A fanbase that can assess the game properly should be the ultimate goal. If we want to critique Gilas, we need to focus on the real, systemic issues, rather than just hunting for Ginebra scapegoats.
As Juan Manila pointed out on Facebook, before we start throwing a party, we need to face the bitter truth about our FIBA rankings.
Jordan is currently ranked No. 41 in the world.
The Philippines is stuck at No. 39.
This is a far cry from our 2015 peak under Tab Baldwin, where we reached a modern high of World No. 27 and beat powerhouses like Iran, Lebanon, and Japan.
There were glaring red flags in this overtime win that we simply cannot sweep under the rug.
We suffered a terrible, slow start, falling into a 14-28 hole in the first quarter.
We had a severe lack of consistent perimeter snipers, shooting a dismal 3-for-18 from the three-point line.
The team desperately missed a stabilizing veteran floor general who could control the tempo when the halfcourt offense fell apart.
We also cannot rely on purely all-Filipino pride forever; we need a reliable, long-term naturalized player program because without a contingency plan, we will always be relying on miracles.
We were ultimately saved by a monster block from Kai Sotto in the final nine seconds and a cold-blooded clutch triple from Kevin Quiambao.
But if our ambition is to genuinely compete with world-class teams in the FIBA World Cup and the Olympics, we cannot rely on overtime miracles against teams we should be dominating. We need to learn how to play with a system from the first quarter to the final buzzer. And as fans, we need to learn how to read the game properly, put our club biases aside, and stop letting our unhealthy obsessions blind us to the facts on the floor.
Related Article: GILAS ANALYSIS! Sotto with a POSTER BLOCK to get the W against JORDAN!
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