Filipino fans were left wondering why Gilas coach Tab Baldwin benched Japeth Aguilar, whom they felt can surprise France with his athleticism and length.
To his defense, Baldwin said Gilas needed the offensive firepower of Troy Rosario and Ranidel De Ocampo more than the defense of Japeth Aguilar that could explain why the Ginebra dynamic wingman hasn't been fielded.
The head coach added that the need for matching France's offense was necessary, stressing that for every possession there must be a possibility to score.
"It’s always what you get, what you give up in every decision you make in terms of substitution. We felt we wanted the offensive end of the floor covered," Baldwin told reporters.
Baldwin also noted that regarless of who are the five on the floor, they would have a hard time stopping France.
True to that, it was the guards of France who did the most damage, with Tony Parker and Nando De Colo conspiring for 46 points to lead the French in a 93-84 win.
"We really believe that France has the ability to put points on the board. We felt from the very start that it’s going to be tough to keep their score down. We wanted to but we wanted to do it by scheme and we didn’t think our personnel can just go out there head-to-head to shut them down. We needed to scheme well," said Baldwin.
Baldwin believed that Troy Rosario and Ranidel de Ocampo would give them a better offensive punch to match the firepower of the French team.
But that move didn't pay dividends, as Rosario and De Ocampo only combined for nine points.
Despite the struggle, Baldwin gave credit especially to Rosario's hustle.
"We also need to score and playing Del (De Ocampo) and Troy, Troy gave us extra possessions with his work on the board, and Del didn’t hit the shots that we all know he could hit. He didn’t get enough shots according to our offensive schemes. That is why he was out there," said Baldwin.
"We are going to give something up inside but we didn’t want to compromise too much of our offense on the floor," said Baldwin.
Source: SPIN
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