“Yes, I believe we have the materials to get the job done,” said Reyes, a day after the Nationals took a 74-66 quarterfinal defeat at the hands of nemesis South Korea.

Reyes said the Asian Games provided the Nationals an opportunity to evaluate the competition, “especially since a number of teams have changed their coaches.”

“We were able to scout them and see where we are and what we have achieved at this point,” said the Talk ‘N Text head coach tapped to assist Serbian drillmaster Rajko Toroman.

Reyes said competing without Marcus Douthit, a candidate for naturalization, was tough since “this team trained for a long time with Douthit at the middle.”

Until the week before the Games, Reyes said they were still hoping that Douthit would get his papers and play.

“It would have been a different ballgame if Douthit was around. He’s an inside threat and would have given the shooters more confidence to shoot,” said Reyes.

One thing going for the team is that it can defend against bigger opponents, according to Reyes.

“Even with small guys, we showed that we can defend. The most that we gave up was 74 against Korea. Credit goes to Rajko who has deep understanding of international basketball,” he said.

After the Games, the team will evaluate its performance and determine what needs to be done.

“Anything is possible, including retaining the PBA players. The most important thing is to strike a balance between chemistry and strengthening the team,” he said.

Noli Eala, executive director of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, said the Nationals came to the Games with two goals: Familiarize themselves with the competition and international basketball.

“I think we have achieved both,” said Eala. “We showed that we can beat Qatar, Chinese-Taipei and even Japan. Now, we need to get to the level of China, South Korea and Iran. That would be our focus next year.”

Rey Bancod, Manila Bulletin