WHILE it has already bagged a slot in the FIBA Asia Cup set this August in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Gilas Pilipinas is leaving no stone unturned in the third window of the qualifiers.
National team coach Tim Cone’s charges will toughen up in a five-day training camp in Doha, Qatar that features a three-game friendly, before commencing its bid in the final Leg of the qualifiers.
Cone said Gilas is set to leave for the West Asian country on Feb. 13 and plunges into action the following day when it faces the Qatar national team to kick off the Doha International Friendly Basketball Championship.
“It’s really going to be a quick trip. Just friendlies, basic exhibition games,” the pro league’s winningest tactician said of the mini-meet that also includes the national teams of Lebanon and Egypt. “It’s going to be really tough. It’s going to be really hard on the players, all the travel going to Doha back to Manila, and then to Taiwan and then over to Hong Kong I think it is, and then down to Auckland.
“I mean, we’ll be doing a lot of travel in about less than eight or nine day-time. But we wanted hard. That’s the whole point because this is about prep,” he added.
After the joust, the Philippine five returns to Manila for a brief respite before traveling to Chinese Taipei and taking on the host team on Feb. 20, and then proceeding to Auckland for a highly-anticipated rematch with New Zealand three days later.
Cone said the team is using the Doha trip and the last window as part of its training and preparation for the meet formerly known as the FIBA Asia Men’s Championship.
“Honestly, if we were not qualified, then probably we wouldn’t do the Doha trip because we would focus on Taiwan and New Zealand and try to make sure that we play our best during those games,” he said. “But we are qualified, and so we’re not concerned so much about the qualification now as much as we are concerned about the actual FIBA Asia tournament.”
Gilas paces Group B with a perfect 4-0 mark that included a runaway 106-53 ripping of Chinese Taipei and a historic 93-89 breakthrough triumph against the Tall Blacks—all last year.
With the new year comes Cone’s desire to start it on the right foot.