It is really hard to defeat defeatism in this forum. Decades of life has taught me to go for what could be gained. Not for what could be lost. Our kids are from up diliman, dlsu and ust -- they all do very well because there is no mental resistance against achieving excellence. It was never about the school, but the learning system and work ethics.
As i said, our nt players are not senior citizens, and neither are the latvians. They got outcoached and outdefended. Their hometown energy support was also very good.
So, balik sa babaw ng bangko. A hard game like the latvian one can hurt what is basically a 5-man deep team like our nt. But that was supposed to be why there are 12 players. You need a magnificent seven off the bench that can explosively give a world of pain against opponents. Buti na lang, there are only 40 not 48 minutes of high intensity war, so our boys can handle the heat.
Right now, tamayo, kikiam, oftana, cj, aguilar and the boy wonder amos are asian class. They are genuinely good, but not the SU-57Ms you need to shoot down overhyped american F-35 ballers and tom cruises in flames. The young ones need at least an extra 3 years of pba gladiatorial fightback experience to mature. The two old ones need laser focus only.
As in boxing, styles make fights. 300 billion pesos wealth says pacquiao understands that principle.
If available local upgrades are all we have, then edu, kouame, baltazar, qmb, abando and heading can fight through a euroball and latam elite phalanx.
Against say, the us, french and spanish teams, you need a 300 porsyento taguro boost from the likes of jordan clarkson and jalen green.
Then never get an incompetent mafiosi "coach unano pusod". Walang alam. He thinks that the chemistry of yakuza loyalty and favoritism is the key to championships. The nt must always deep select for elite tourneys like the olympic and world cup games.
glad to be proven wrong as always