Our boys fell for the third time in 3 games as Lebanon U21 came from behind to serve our boys a 81-90 loss on a cold platter. As they are our only realistic hurdle left for qualification this phase, I decided to go experimental, testing out a defensive formation I couldn't get myself to trust all this while since I expected them to go inside. Coincidentally they played 3-2 against us, and the results seem to support my suspicion.
Our starters really played well in the game. Chua How Feng and Ang An Da led by example in the absence of our third vet Kok Loong An. Chua had one of the best games in his career, picking up a double-double thanks to 18 points and 24 points from 71% shooting while Ang added 15 points and 7 assists. Zhao Choon Keong also tried to match Chua's output, putting up a magnificent two-way performance with 10 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks to end the game with a double-double. The duo combined for 15 offensive rebounds to keep our team going. Meanwhile, Ethan Bin Intuang gave us a glimpse of his true colours in his first start for the U21. Thrown into the starting lineup due to game shape issues, he did not disappoint, contributing solidly in both offense and defense has he finished with a statline of 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Our loss today was mainly caused by the lack of depth. Thanks to 3 players with game shape issues, we were forced to throw Abdur-Razzaq Jalil into the lineup. Let's hope things will go smoothly in the next two weeks.
That said, speaking of 3-2 and 2-3, watching this game allowed me to infer (I haven't ran it through the game analyzer, so it might be inaccurate) 3-2 is still the superior defense against LI, despite the buff. Here are some pointers I took away from the game:
1. Although LI is an inside offense, it primarily uses guards to get things going. Meaning quite often instead of passing the ball into the bigs, the guards will go for driving layups (this was actually proven a long time ago, from the era when LI was the best offense, which is why most top guards have high IS). 3-2 with 3 high OD not only cuts this drive, but it also prevents passes into your bigs. This can be seen from our 16 three point attempts despite playing an inside offense, with most of them being at the end of the shot clock. Your perimeter players can't get the ball past the defense, hence are forced to shoot from outside. Our opponents only had 7 shots from 3 because 2-3 leaves your perimeter open, hence allowing them to drive inside. It also causes more open shots from 3.
2. The rebounding advantage of 2-3 can neutralize the rebounding advantage gained by LI, while your opponent might have the advantage on the boards if you play 3-2. This is evident in the difference in offensive rebounds of both teams (24 vs 3). Although skill level might come into play, but it's interesting to see how we dominated the boards entirely. That said, rebounding is one of the less valuable skills in BB, so the cons might still outweigh the pros.