GILAS Pilipinas winds up its closed-door training camp today at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna with the Philippine five training their sights on formidable New Zealand in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
There’s one problem—the Tall Blacks have a new coach in Judd Flavell.
“The difficult part is they do have a new coach. The system is going to change a little bit. They are bringing over a little different personnel than they have from the past years, and little different from the World Cup (team) that came over here in 2023,” National coach Tim Cone said. “They might be a little bit more difficult to prepare for.
“Social media, video, and YouTube, there’s so much information to gather and we are in the midst of gathering that and we’ve got videos out to the players already,” he added.
All members of the 15-man national team training pool showed up in the practice sessions that began last Friday, with naturalized star Justin Brownlee and Carl Tamayo joining their teammates last Saturday in their build-up for their game against the New Zealanders this Thursday, Nov. 21, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Cone is wary of New Zealand which clobbered Gilas 106-60 two years ago in the World Cup Asian qualifiers in Auckland.
“They are the 22nd-ranked team in the world. That’s higher than the Georgia team that we played. Georgia is No. 24 in the OQT. They are a tough, tough team. They are a physical team. They are a nation of rugby players. They know how to play physically,” Cone said.
“It’s a part of their culture and it’s not personal. That’s the way they play. That’s something we are going to have to be conscious of.”
The PBA’s winningest tactician is convinced his charges can hack it—especially in front of an expected boisterous home crowd.
“But I don’t think they’ve seen a team like the team we are assembling before. I think we have a shot at beating them and we certainly want to protect our home court and show ourselves and to our Gilas fans around the country,” he said.
“These are very important (games) to us. I really expect us to be ready and motivated to play.”
Aside from Brownlee, fellow naturalized player Ange Kouame, and Tamayo, reigning eight-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo, former MVP Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome, CJ Perez, Calvin Oftana, Kevin Quiambao, and overseas-based standouts Kai Sotto, Dwight Ramos, and AJ Edu comprise the pool.
The 7-foot-3 Sotto has been greenlighted to suit up for Gilas after completing a concussion protocol, but the 6-foot-10 Edu (knee) is still doubtful.
Cone ruled out Malonzo from seeing action for the squad after undergoing calf surgery while Japeth Aguilar and Mason Amos will serve as reserves.
This window should serve as a stern test for Cone and his men and they seem ready for the challenge.
