By Ivan Saldajeno
PASAY--After an inspired start to their game on Tuesday night, Gilas gradually withered and eventually fell prey to France in the FIBA OQT at the Mall of Asia Arena.
[Related Story: Gilas falls to France in OQT debut]
For skipper Jayson Castro, the turnovers spelled doom on them.
"We have a lot of turnovers. It's in the stats: 18 turnovers," Castro said after the game.
Gilas was actually on a good track of keeping check of their turnovers, only conceding one error the entirety of the first quarter while forcing five against France with star point guard Tony Parker, who appeared to be fazed by the sudden jeers on him every time he touched the ball, committing two.
Since then, however, Gilas committed 17 turnovers, while France only had ten, although they committed two would-have-been crucial errors down the stretch that helped Gilas sparked their comeback bid that fell short.
"We're right there. We execute our plays pretty well. During the first quarter, nagwo-work We're up by ten points. All of a sudden, in the middle of the second quarter, we lost our composure. Then we turned the ball over," Castro further explained what costed them the win.
With their backs now against the wall on Wednesday night against New Zealand, Castro expects that a less error-prone Gilas will show up.
What many say is the best point guard in Asia right now vowed, "In tomorrow's game, we need to take care of the ball."
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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