SPEED. Height. Chemistry.
These were obviously the emphasis of Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas when they bared the 21-man national team training pool last Tuesday night for the FIBA World Cup.
NBA standout Jordan Clarkson and fellow naturalized players Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame banner the pool that also has the likes of PBA stars Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, and Jamie Malonzo of Ginebra, former six-time MVP June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez of San Miguel Beer, TNT’s Poy Erram, Calvin Oftana and Roger Pogoy, Chris Newsome of Meralco.
Towering centers Kai Sotto and AJ Edu, along with overseas-based players Dwight Ramos, Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, Ray Parks Jr., Jordan Heading and Carl Tamayo of the Japan B.League, and Korea Basketball League’s Rhenz Abando completed the list.
Gilas was drawn with Italy, Dominican Republic, and Angola in Group A of the blue-ribbon world cage spectacle on August 25 to Sept. 10 on home soil.
The nationals hit the ground running yesterday at the Meralco Gym in Pasig in their preparations for the World Cup.
Gilas is also set to toughen up via European training camps in Estonia, Lithuania and possibly in Latvia.
The Filipino cagers need to finish at least in the top two of the group stage to advance to the next round and hopefully boost their bid of becoming the best placed Asian squad to directly qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Philippine five, then under tactician Yeng Guiao, fell to Italy (62-108) and Angola in overtime (81-84) in the World Cup in China in 2019.
