The Philippine nationwide males’s basketball workforce will face some acquainted foes when Gilas Pilipinas begins the group stage of the 2023 FIBA World Cup right here in August.
Still, head coach Chot Reyes doesn’t see a bonus to it, stressing that on this degree, each group is a troublesome one.
“Well, this is the World Cup so there’s no such thing as an easy draw. But the best way I can categorize it, it’s not ideal but it could’ve been better,” Reyes stated in regards to the draw ceremony on Saturday on the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Good thing is that now we have some clarity on who we are playing and what kind of preparation is necessary to be at our best.”
The Philippines has been drawn in Group A the place it should tackle Angola, Italy, and the Dominican Republic, all of which Gilas had confronted up to now.
The Filipinos fell to Angola in a decent affair throughout their assembly within the 2019 World Cup, absorbing an 84-81 loss regardless of a 23-point effort from naturalized huge man Andray Blatche.
In the identical match, the Philippines additionally bowed to Italy, 108-62, with Blatche and CJ Perez every dropping 15 markers.
Gilas wound up final amongst 32 groups in that version with a 0-5 win-loss slate.
Gilas additionally performed the Dominican Republic when the 2 groups collided within the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Qualifiers, the place the nation was dealt a 94-67 defeat.
“Well, it goes both ways. We know them, they know us as well. So there’s going to be few surprises,” Reyes, who might be trooping to his second Wolrd Cup gig, added.
“But in the end that’s really going to be determined by how well we can prepare, how well we can get together, play together, and how many quality tuneup games we can get.”
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
