Reyes umaasang makakarating ang Gilas sa Last 16

SEVILLE -- Ang makarating sa knockout round-of-16 ang pangunahing adhikain ng Pilipinas sa FIBA World Cup at sinabi ni Gilas coach Chot Reyes kahapon na walang imposible sa basketball na napatunayan na ng mga underdog teams sa iba’t ibang zone qualifiers.

“Egypt was a surprise qualifier in FIBA Africa and Finland came from nowhere to beat several giants in FIBA Eurobasket last year,” wika ni Reyes.  “Let’s not forget how Gilas defied the odds to finish second in FIBA-Asia.  It’s no longer surprising for surprises to come in international basketball competitions. Going back to the 2002 World Cup, New Zealand placed a surprising fifth.  Who knows?

Maybe, the Philippines will be the surprise of this year’s World Cup.”

 Ayon kay Reyes, dalawang panalo ang kailangan ng Gilas sa preliminaries para makapasok sa round-of-16.

Sa draw noong Lunes, nakasama ang Pilipinas sa Group B na kinabibilangan ng Argentina, Croatia, Greece, Puerto Rico at Senegal.

Sinasabing ang Group B ang ikalawang pinakamabigat na grupo sa apat na brackets sa likod ng Group A na binubuo ng Spain, Serbia, France, Brazil, Egypt at Iran.

Nasa Group D naman ang Slovenia, Lithuania, Angola, Korea, Mexico at Australia at nasa Group C ang Dominican Republic, Turkey, USA, Finland, New Zealand at Ukraine.

“The draw could’ve been better for us but we can’t complain because it could’ve been worse,” wika ni Reyes.  “Luckily, we didn’t end up in Group A.  We’re excited to play in Seville where we hope to bring over at least 1,000 Filipino fans.  We were informed that our Ambassador (Carlos Salinas) is planning to organize activities to promote our participation”.

Nagtungo si Reyes, kasama sina team manager Aboy Castro at logistics director Andrew Teh dito mula sa Barcelona kung saan idinaos ang draw.