HAVING won the men’s gold medal 12 straight times in the Southeast Asian Games, one might be tempted to think that Gilas Pilipinas has all the reasons to sit back, relax and take its foot off the pedal.
Wrong.
Gilas’ preparations for the 30th edition of the Games the country is hosting from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 shifts to high gear when it tackles Asean Basketball League’s San Miguel Alab Pilipinas squad today in a tune-up match at the Meralco Gym in Pasig.
The match, which will be closed to the public and the media, is set at 6 p.m., with Alab also using the scrimmage to toughen up for its campaign in the 10th Season of the ABL kicking off Nov. 16.
Gilas assistant coach and former national team standout Jimmy Alapag calls the shot for the Alab side bannered by imports Renaldo Balkman, Adrain Forbes, and Khalif Wyatt along with Fil-Ams Jason Brickman and Jeremiah Grey.
Nationals coach Tim Cone opted to hold the games behind closed-doors to keep their preparations away from the prying eyes of scouts.
The national team training pool for the games is down to 14 men after former two-time Best Point Guard in Asia Jayson Castro suffered a muscle strain injury that will sideline him for five to six weeks.
Cone’s Ginebra players in LA Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar, Stanley Pringle, Greg Slaughter, Scottie Thompson, and Art dela Cruz lead the pool.
