Gilas takes on Texters in MVP Cup opener

Games today (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

4:15 p.m. – New Zealand vs Chinese Taipei

7 p.m. – Talk n Text vs Gilas Pilipinas

MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas competes in the four-team, three-day Master Game Face MVP Cup in the homestretch of its buildup for the FIBA Asia Championship, taking on Talk n Text on Friday to start its campaign in the pocket tourney at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Nationals tackle the Wellington Saints on Saturday then Chinese Taipei on Sunday in the tourney that Gilas will use to polish their game heading into the final week of their preparation for the Asian Olympic qualifier in Changsha, China.

On opening day, the Kiwis and the Taiwanese square off at 4:15 p.m. then the Nationals and the Tropang Texters face off at 7 p.m.

“(The MVP Cup) is one hell of a tournament. It’s a great preparation. This is going to be a challenge,” said Gilas coach Tab Baldwin during the press conference at One Bar in Holiday Inn Galeria in Ortigas Center.

“(The MVP Cup) will be a huge step. Now our concentration level has to go up. There are lots of works now based on situational plays. The next 10 to 12 days, this will be the difference if this will ultimately work or not (in the FIBA Asia),” Baldwin also said.

“We should start sharpening the pencil now. In the Jones Cup we divided playing minutes of players. Now we need to know who are the best offensive five we have, the best defensive five, the best rebounding five,” Baldwin added.

After the MVP Cup, Gilas Pilipinas goes to Cebu for a closed-door team-building session before eventually proceeding to Changsha for the FIBA Asia meet slated Sept. 23-Oct 3.

“We better not be peaking yet. The disruption during the buildup, the situation of Andray Blatche, we’re nowhere near our peak. The important thing is how we peak during the tournament (in China),” Baldwin said.

The MVP Cup is a special event featuring Gilas Pilipinas with the very lineup Baldwin will bring to battle in FIBA Asia.

Baldwin rotated a 17-man pool against Estonia, Iceland and the Netherlands in the Toyota Four Nations Tourney in Tallinn, Estonia then shuffled 16 men minus Andray Blatche in the Jones Cup in Taipei.

In the MVP Cup, the Nationals tangle with the Taiwanese and the Kiwis once again with Blatche in the Gilas lineup. Team Phl repulsed both teams on the way to a second-place finish behind Iran in the Jones Cup.

Gilas Pilipinas and Chinese Taipei have split their last two games with the Taiwanese pulling the rug from under the Filipinos before a stunned home crowd at the MOA Arena during the FIBA Asia preliminary round in 2013.

Featuring naturalized player Quincy Davis and an array of shooters, the Chinese Taipei quintet was fourth placer in the last FIBA Asia and wound up third behind Iran and Team Phl in the recent Jones Cup.

The Wellington Saints can’t be taken lightly either as they’d shown in their own Jones Cup stint. Gilas banked on the heroics of Jayson Castro and Dondon Hontiveros in the clutch to survive a tough overtime grind versus the Saints, 92-88.

Talk n Text is fresh from a stint in an invitational tourney in South Korea and will now be playing with PBA Rookie Draft acquisitions Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario.

The MVP Cup is the lone event where the Filipino fans will be able to watch Gilas live in action. Tickets to the games are now available in all Ticketnet outlets and www.ticketnet.com.ph. Games will also be aired live on TV5.