FIBA Asia 2015 Matchup Preview: Gilas Pilipinas Basketball opponent Hong Kong national team will be the second game of Gilas on September 24 at Changsha China in FIBA Asia 2015 preliminaries. We dissect and analyze the strengths and weaknesses, together with the best players of Hong Kong that will fight opposite RP Five.

Hongkong basketball, probably overlooked by most basketball pundits, will be the second team to test the mettle of the Philippine Basketball Team in FIBA Asia 2015. No matter the chances of Hongkong against Gilas, complacency and overconfidence should not be part of the Filipino agenda come gametime. We do not want a repeat surprise loss due to recklessness.

“If you take somebody lightly, they’ll beat you. So we can’t take them lightly. We have to play each game in order to get better, to improve ourselves and to beat our opponents.” Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin stated as quoted by Interaksyon.com

Hongkong massacred Kuwait 87-50, yesterday in their first game in Changsha.

In their last meeting in FIBA Asia 2013, Gilas Pilipinas, probably beset by jitters, managed to win against Hong Kong by only 12 points. Hong Kong even led by 6 markers 19-13 at the end of the first quarter. HK’s Canadian reinforcement scored easily against Marcus Douthit, scoring 12 points, while Siu Wing Chan ended-up with 16 points.

Hong Kong also held their own against Japan and Qatar in their first round assignments in FIBA Asia 2013. Losing by 9 markers against Japan, and bowing to Qatar by 23 points. They cannot be regarded as patsies, which means they can still spring some surprises of their own.

In Asian Games 2014 Basketball, Hong Kong averaged a tournament best in total points made per game, 85.7, where Iran emerged as champions.

Hongkong players to check out include Duncan Reid who stands 6’9 and can pose a threat in the post for Blatche and Taulava. Lo Yi Ting and Chan Siu Wing are the designated gunners for Hongkong. The energy guys include Wong Chun Wai and Fong Shing Yee, they hustle, attack the basket and grope for the rebounds.

Hongkong loves the halfcourt set with a mix of two man game. They like to execute pick and rolls and will surely take advantage of Reid’s height and heft to muscle in the paint. This national team is primarily geared to shoot the lights out so we expect Gilas defenders to have their hands full guarding the snipers of Hongkong.

Gilas Pilipinas should learn the lesson of their loss to Palestine yesterday and protect their lead. Dominate the East Asian early in the paint and make them commit to early penalty. The Filipinos must rotate to and challenge all the shooters. Hongkong basketball team is likewise very dangerous in clutch time so it would be better to establish a sizeable lead to avoid any endgame upsets.