By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The E-Gilas Pilipinas put on their classic unstoppable pick-and-roll offense to shutdown rivals Indonesia and raise the championship trophy of the NBA 2K FIBA Esports Open Southeast Asia Conference.
It was a nip-and-tuck series between the Philippines and Indonesia as E-Gilas only had single-digit leads in both matchups, 60-53 in Game 1 and 44-36 in the title-clinching Game 2.
The dynamic duo of “Shintarou” and “Izzo” provided the much-needed lift on the E-Gilas side after picking apart Indonesia’s defense with their precise pick-and-roll offense.
However, it was not an easy path to the championship as Indonesia always used a strong third quarter to erase PH’s lead in the first half.
The Indonesians entirely relied on their three-point oriented offensive scheme where both their power forward and their center picked-and-popped more than rolling to the rim.
Fortunately, E-Gilas’ experience allowed them to handle Indonesia’s gameplan and steamrolled their way once the fourth quarter started.
“It means a lot to represent the Philippines again and reclaim the Southeast Asia Conference title. We’ve been through ups and downs, we’ve lost FIBA Esports II, so I’m so happy and blessed that we reclaimed the title,” said forward. Rial of E-Gilas.
