THERE are bigger battles ahead and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas is ready to move forward.
After the country failed to retain the cage gold in the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam, the country’s governing body for basketball now shifts its focus to the national teams’ coming major tournaments, as well as ongoing preparations being undertaken for the hosting of the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
Gracing the virtual Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum yesterday, SBP Executive Director Sonny Barrios said the Gilas Pilipinas team has started training for its campaign in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers in New Zealand and Manila, and later in the FIBA Asia Cup Championship in Indonesia.
Nenad Vucinic will handle the Gilas team for the World Cup qualifiers, before Chot Reyes takes the coaching job anew for the Asia Cup Championship, an arrangement that Barrios said has been approved even before the SEA Games in Vietnam.
There’s also the Under-16 FIBA Asian Championship in Doha, Qatar where the Gilas Youth team under coach Josh Reyes hopes to clinch a berth in the Under-17 World Cup in Malaga, Spain, and the Under-16 women’s team of coach Pat Aquino seeing action in the Asian Championship in Amman, Jordan.
“We are very inclusive in planning out how to move forward for this 2023 World Cup which we are hosting para ng sa ganun ang ating buong bayan will support and be behind our Gilas Pilipinas team kasi alam nilang pinag-handaan ng mabuti ‘yung tournament,” Barrios said.
Barrios admitted there were lessons learned in Gilas Pilipinas losing the basketball gold to Indonesia in the Hanoi SEA Games.
“Fielding the best that we can is of utmost importance para ‘yung cohesion and preparing for an extended period of time and not just a couple of weeks or even a month ay mas maganda. Mas matagal, mas maganda,” the former PBA commissioner said in the public service program presented by San Miguel Corp., Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Milo, Amelie Hotel Manila, Unilever, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
“The value of scouting the opposition is also a lesson learned moving forward for any tournament for that matter,” he added.
Simultaneous with the preparations being undertaken by the national teams is the groundwork being made by the SBP for the successful staging of the World Cup next year which the country is co-hosting with Japan and Indonesia.
