Gilas Pilipinas started their training camp for the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers. -sbp photo
Gilas Pilipinas is scheduled to play against a new-look New Zealand team in a FIBA Asia Cup qualifier this coming Thursday, but national coach Tim Cone is well aware of how dangerous a team can be when starting from scratch.
“I think it’s their first game together as a group,” he said of the Tall Blacks, who will now have famed 2002 World Cup roster member Judd Flavell as their new head coach.
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“I remember our first game when we played in Hong Kong when we met together for the first time. There was a lot of excitement, a lot of energy and we were raring to play. So that’s what we expect from them,” he added.
As they prepare for the next World Cup, Kone and his long-time cast made their debut in the first window of the continental qualifiers last February and quickly made their mark.
The Nationals beat Hong Kong by 30 points to take an early lead in Group B play and then defeated Chinese-Taipei by 53 points a few days later.
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Since then, the majority of that team has trained together and played important battles, including a stunning upset on home turf over then-world No. 6 Latvia in the Olympic qualifying tournament last July.
This string of success could establish the Nationals as favorites in the match at the Mall of Asia Arena at 7:30 pm. But who is looking at it from a different perspective?
“They may know us a little better because they’ve seen us in OQT, and they’ve seen us in some of our windows already,” the veteran consultant explained. “So, in that regard, they’re going to have a little bit of an advantage.”
‘Jog your memory’
“Again, the coach is brand new and he has brought three or four players with him, so they will have continuity,” he said of New Zealand, who are also struggling 2-0. Mark of victory and defeat.
“They will bring a lot more size than before [as] They got some guys that are 6-foot-11, 7 feet. They [have their] Young team and now they are being nurtured. And so, this team looks a lot more, if I may say, a little younger but more athletic.”
A win over the Tall Blacks would give the Philippines sole lead in Group B and finally end their losing streak to the Kiwis. Gilas has lost all four of its previous meetings with New Zealand at the FIBA stage.
Gilas is holding a camp at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba where he hopes to get rid of some of the traps.
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“The first practice is always the hardest because we’re trying to get everybody back together and we’re trying to get them on offense again. (There’s always a little bit of confusion in trying to remember things, sharpening your memory a little bit), he said on the sidelines of the first day of training.
