The classification phase was supposed to be a cakewalk for Team Pilipinas, the calm before the proverbial storm. The thinking was Gilas 3.0 would breeze through this round, all while perfecting Coach Tab Baldwin’s swing offense and fine-tuning every weapon in the arsenal. The team, after all, was grouped with a trio of “lightweights”—Palestine, Hong Kong, and Kuwait.

No one expected the storm to come right at day one, though.