THE present batch of Gilas Pilipinas is a young squad that is already at par with teams in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in terms of talent and size.

That's how Rajko Toroman, former coach of Gilas Pilipinas, describes the Philippine squad being handled by returning mentor Tab Baldwin.

'[T]hey're at the level of a PBA team in terms of talented players,' said Toroman, who now serves as head coach of Indonesia. 'They have the size that can make it difficult for everybody.'

Toroman and his Indonesian team got a sound beating from Gilas Pilipinas, 76-51, on Friday night.

Size played a key factor in the Philippines' victory against Indonesia.

Seven-foot-three-inch center Kai Sotto, 6'10' Angelo Kouame and 6'8' Justin Baltazar had been the work force up front for Gilas Pilipinas with 6'7' Isaac Go and 6'7' Carl Tamayo backing them up. Against Indonesia, the Philippines also utilized 6'9' Geo Chiu to add more ceiling as the Filipinos clobbered their rivals in the battle of the boards.

Gilas Pilipinas grabbed 26 offensive rebounds, 20 more than the Indonesians, and that resulted in 23 second-chance points.

'They have Kai Sotto, who would learn from his stint in the Australian National Basketball League, and Gilas is getting some experience and international exposure. This is good for Philippine basketball,' Toroman added.

With the way this Gilas team has been playing, Toroman is certain that it can surpass the achievement of the Gilas team he coached 10 years ago.

Under the Serbian mentor, the first batch of Gilas Pilipinas failed to win a medal in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship and fell short of securing an Olympic berth.

Now, Gilas Pilipinas has a 5-0 standing in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers and has a chance to score a sweep with a win over South Korea on Sunday.