GILAS Pilipinas is out to prove it has what it takes in the 2023 FIBA World Cup the Philippines is co-hosting with Japan and Indonesia.
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas program director Tab Baldwin said the Philippines’ chances in the world hoops spectacle set from August 25 to September 10, 2023 hinge largely on preparations.
“All of that (chances in the World Cup) has to do with what happens with our program between now and then. I would like to think that if our program can realize its individual goals in terms of training mechanisms, in terms of the people we involve in training, in terms of the touring and playing international competition, if we can season our roster, obviously we need to have a healthy world so that we can be allowed to do these things so there are a lot of factors in play,” Baldwin said on the Coaches Unfiltered podcast.
“The best case scenario if our team goes into 2023 as players we select and we want to select, we have had the requisite training, we have had the requisite preparation games, we would certainly like to think that we can make it out of the first round, it’s no longer about winning games, the expectation is absolutely be there to win games,” he added.
As co-host, the Philippines gained an outright berth to the quadrennial joust. It will mark the first time the World Cup will be held in the country since 1978.
Baldwin said Gilas’ opponents in the group phase will also be among the keys in their campaign.
“Some of it depends on the strength of the pool, of course as it is with every single team in the world when they hold their breath when the pools are announced. Believe me, even the strong teams hold their breath when the pools are announced,” Baldwin explained.
“So a lot of factors go into play but we certainly wanna get out of the first round, we wanna get to the second round, we wanna carry wins with us in to the second round which gives us a competitive advantage in the second round and if you get out of the second round and into the final 16, then anything can happen.
