WHO will make the cut?
That will likely be known today when Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin names his final 12-man line-up for the nationals’ match against rival South Korea tomorrow in the third window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers in a bubble at the Angeles University Foundation Gym in Clark.
The all-amateur Philippine five arrived last Sunday at the Quest Hotel, with 7-foot-3 center Kai Sotto and naturalized player Ange Kouame leading 13 others who wound up training camp at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.
Also making the 15-man pool staying in Clark were Dwight Ramos, Justine Baltazar, Javi Gomez de Liaño, special Gilas draftees Isaac Go, Mike Nieto, Jordan Heading, William Navarro, and Jaydee Tungcab. Completing the pool were young guns Carl Tamayo, Lebron Lopez, RJ Abarrientos, SJ Belangel, and Geo Chiu.
Sotto’s debut with the Gilas seniors’ team is also hanging in the air, according to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas special assistant to the president Ryan Gregorio.
“We’re hoping that he’ll be able to play with the rest of the team. He is still (being) evaluated in terms of match fitness, based on my discussion with coach Tab Baldwin. We want to make sure that we are not compromising his health. He has not done a lot of basketball in the last few days and we want to immerse him slowly,” Gregorio said in an online press conference last Sunday.
“We want to make sure we know the defensive scheme of things. Our concepts on offense and our strategies and our scouting and all. Of course, on the top of it is building chemistry,” he added.
Gregorio said while Gilas is out to prove it has what it takes, the squad will use the experience it will get to prepare for the 2023 FIBA World Cup the country is co-hosting with Indonesia.
“We’re ready to compete obviously, and the goal has always been an opportunity to win. It really is our specific goal. We’ve been working out for the past nine weeks, the coaching staff and our players in the Inspire bubble,” Gregorio said.
“But we have to understand that this is a developmental team, it’s a very young team.
We’re hoping that we can get the necessary experience at a very high level, and this is all in preparation for 2023. So whatever progress that we get from today is actually one step towards our goal to be competitive in 2023,” he added.
