Gilas to play tuneup games in Turkey and Poland before OQT
GILAS Pilipinas will embark on training sorties in Turkey and Poland ahead of its stint in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Latvia in July.
According to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) executive director Erika Dy, the Nationals will first re-assemble on June 22 at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna before flying to Turkey then Poland to play tuneup games with their respective national teams.
From there, coach Tim Cone and his 14-man squad will proceed with its “Mission: Paris” in the July 2 to 7 qualifiers in the Latvian city of Riga.
“We’re grouped with the host team Latvia and Georgia, both powerhouses, and we’re really looking forward to competing against them,” Ms. Dy said in yesterday’s PSA Forum where she bared the SBP’s programs for the rest of the year.
After the OQT campaign, the federation will prepare for the hosting of Gilas’ next assignments in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers at the MOA Arena in November against New Zealand (NZ) and Hong Kong. The Nationals will reconvene six days before the NZ game set Nov. 21.
“The program is working. He (Mr. Cone) has secured the best talents that we have.”
The Gilas women’s program is also buzzing with activities.
Per Ms. Dy, the cagebelles are building up for the Jones Cup in June and the FIBA Women’s World Cup Pre-Qualifying Tournament in August in Rwanda.
And if Gilas men is adding Bennie Boatwright to its naturalized player pool, Gilas women is enlisting Nigerian-born Favour Onoh as NP. Ms. Onoh, 18, is a 6-4 Nigerian-born center playing for University of the Philippines in the UAAP.
The naturalization processes for both have started in Congress, per Ms. Dy.
The Gilas U17 team, meanwhile, is preparing for the FIBA U17 World Cup slated June 29 to July 9 in Turkey. — Olmin Leyba
