Failed World Cup bid will serve as motivation for Gilas says Asi

MANILA, Philippines -- NLEX’s ageless slotman Asi Taulava said instead of sulking over the country’s failed hosting bid for the 2019 Fiba World Cup, Gilas Pilipinas should instead use that as a motivating tool to get better as the national squad shoots for no less than the gold medal in next month’s Fiba-Asia men’s championships in Changsa, Hunan, China.

The 6-foot-10 Taulava was one of the millions of interested Filipino spectators during Friday’s final bid presentation.

A power-packed delegation led by boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and Hollywood actor Lou Diamond Phillips accompanied Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Manny V. Pangilinan and the other SBP officials in Tokyo, Japan.

Despite a passionate and moving presentation by the SBP, the Fiba Central Board awarded the 2019 hosting rights of the world championship to China, drawing mixed reactions from Filipinos at the popular social micro-blogging site Twitter.

Taulava admitted China has the vast resources to host a sporting event of that magnitude, but has high hopes that Gilas can ease the pain by winning the Fiba-Asia men’s championships.

“Instead of being bitter about it (failed bid in the Fiba World Cup), we (Gilas players) can use that as a motivation in the Fiba-Asia next month. We will try to go and win the gold,” Taulava told Philstar.com on Sunday.

The 42-year-old Taulava, the oldest member in the Gilas national pool, said the challenge will be huge for them, considering that supposed shoo-in PBA players like June Mar Fajardo and Marcio Lassiter of San Miguel Beer, Barangay Ginebra’s LA Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar, as well as Star Hotshots’ Marc Pingris are not around to reinforce the team.

“We know the challenge (to win Fiba-Asia) will be huge, but everything is there. And again, everything begins in practice,” he added.

The evergreen NLEX big man said Gilas new coach Tab Baldwin has been pushing them in practice for the past week, preparing them for the expected strong competition in the Fiba-Asia joust where Iran will look to defend its crown.

“Coach Tab has been pushing us in practice, but that can’t be an excuse for us because when you represent the country, you can’t be tired,” stressed the Fil-Tongan.

“Everybody is depending on us so every practice, we need to push our bodies and make sure we also keep Andray (Blatche) injury free,” he added.

Gilas will embark on a grueling trip to Turkey a week from now and will play a series of tune-up matches against European squads.

The Filipinos, will then join the annual Jones Cup late this month, before participating in the four-nation MVP Cup on Sept. 11-13.

The MVP Cup will serve as Gilas’ final tournament, before flying to Changsa for the Asian men’s championships.