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| Paul Lee, RR Pogoy, and the rest of Gilas Men could not overcome Vladimir Lucic and Serbia's challenge. FIBA |
MANILA--Paul Lee rued Gilas Pilipinas Men's rough defeat to Serbia on Monday night at the Foshan International Sports and Cultural Arena, even saying that they just bumped into the hottest team right now in the FIBA World Cup.
"It's a tough loss. We did our job just to keep the game close, but I think Serbia is the number one team right now," Lee said during the post-game press conference.
However, he believes that they improved from their previous loss to Italy, where they were bludgeoned from start to finish.
It was evident in the first minutes of the first quarter, where they even took the lead.
"Our goal this game is just to level up our game compared to our last game--the intensity, offense, and defense. I think nakuha naman namin yung goal namin," Lee continued.
But the reality sank in later in the first, when Serbia outscored Gilas Men, 21-4, to take a 28-13 lead to the second period.
While Gilas Men still tried to give a gallant stand early in the second, Serbia stomped its dominance later in the quarter and eventually in the next canto, and Gilas Men never recovered from there.
As further proof, Serbia shot a whopping 75 percent from the field, 55 percent from long range and an even more eye-popping 86 percent inside the arc.
Gilas Men could only convert 37 percent of their field goal attempts, including another dismal outing from three-point land (4-of-24).
Also, Serbia dished out 37 assists, while Gilas Men only had 14, showing how disciplined Serbia's offense was.
"Serbia is too much for us," Lee continued.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
"It's a tough loss. We did our job just to keep the game close, but I think Serbia is the number one team right now," Lee said during the post-game press conference.
However, he believes that they improved from their previous loss to Italy, where they were bludgeoned from start to finish.
It was evident in the first minutes of the first quarter, where they even took the lead.
"Our goal this game is just to level up our game compared to our last game--the intensity, offense, and defense. I think nakuha naman namin yung goal namin," Lee continued.
But the reality sank in later in the first, when Serbia outscored Gilas Men, 21-4, to take a 28-13 lead to the second period.
While Gilas Men still tried to give a gallant stand early in the second, Serbia stomped its dominance later in the quarter and eventually in the next canto, and Gilas Men never recovered from there.
As further proof, Serbia shot a whopping 75 percent from the field, 55 percent from long range and an even more eye-popping 86 percent inside the arc.
Gilas Men could only convert 37 percent of their field goal attempts, including another dismal outing from three-point land (4-of-24).
Also, Serbia dished out 37 assists, while Gilas Men only had 14, showing how disciplined Serbia's offense was.
"Serbia is too much for us," Lee continued.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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