Gilas Pilipinas returns to action in fifth window of FIBA Asian Qualifiers
The Philippine men’s national basketball team returns to action in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, playing in the fifth window set in Amman, Jordan.
Gilas Pilipinas, which currently sits at third place in Group E of the qualifiers with a 3–3 card, takes on host country Jordan (3–3) on Friday (12 midnight, Manila time) and Saudi Arabia (1–5) on Sunday in its two-game schedule in this stretch of the six-window competition.
The team is looking to steady the boat in what has been, for the most part, a difficult campaign for it, something fans and observers alike have taken it to task.
Leading the 12-man Gilas team is the returning naturalized player Ange Kouame of Ateneo de Manila University. He fills up the role played by Filipino-American National Basketball Association star Jordan Clarkson of the Utah Jazz in the previous window in August.
Joining Kouame for the fifth window are Philippine Basketball Association mainstays Roger Pogoy, Calvin Oftana and Poy Erram of TNT, Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo and Japeth Aguilar of Barangay Ginebra, and CJ Perez of San Miguel as well as Japan league campaigners Ray Parks, Jr. and Dwight Ramos.
Completing the roster are big man Kai Sotto of the Australian league and Kevin Quiambao of De La Salle University.
Chot Reyes coaches the team, assisted by Tim Cone and Jong Uichico.
Prior to leaving for Jordan early this week, Reyes admitted they have a tough task anew in the fifth window but is hopefully that with majority of the players having been part in different stretches of the tournament there is already familiarity with their system.
“These are the cards we are dealt with, and we’ll go to war with that,” Reyes was quoted as saying by local media. “A lot of players already know what we do.”
In the fourth window, Gilas went 1–1, losing to Lebanon, 85–81, in Beirut on Aug. 25, before winning over Saudi Arabia, 84–46, in Manila on Aug. 29.
New Zealand continues to lead Group E with an unblemished 6–0 record, followed by Lebanon (5–1), the Philippines, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and India (0–6).
It is worth noting though that the Philippines is already qualified for the FIBA World Cup happening next year along with Japan. The two are co-hosting the world hoops spectacle along with Indonesia.
Over at Group F, meanwhile, Australia leads with an 8–0 card, followed by China (6–2), Kazakhstan (5–3), Iran (5–3), Japan (3–5) and Bahrain (2–6).
In the Philippines, Gilas matches will be shown over One Sports.
