Turkey, Poland tiffs up for Gilas

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas will embark on training sorties in Turkey and Poland ahead of its stint in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia in July.

According to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Erika Dy, the Nationals will first re-assemble on June 22 at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna before flying to Turkey then Poland to play tune-up games with their respective national teams.

From there, coach Tim Cone and his 14-man squad will proceed with its “Mission: Paris” in the July 2 to 7 qualifiers in the Latvian city of Riga.

“We’re grouped with the host team Latvia and Georgia, both powerhouses, and we’re really looking forward to competing against them,” Dy said in the PSA Forum sponsored by San Miguel Corp., PSC, POC, Smart/PLDT, Milo and 24/7 sports app ArenaPlus.

After the OQT campaign, the federation will prepare for the hosting of Gilas’ next assignments in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers at the MOA Arena in November against New Zealand and Hong Kong. The Nationals will reconvene six days before the NZ game set Nov. 21.

“Premise ni coach Tim, we have the same roster every time. Kapag pinagsama-sama mo yung short training periods, mag-a-accumulate sila,” said Dy.

“The program is working. He (Cone) has secured the best talents that we have. In the past, hirap na hirap tayo. Because of this shorter training periods, mas madali mag-commit and because high-level players ang mga ito, mas madali sila mag-pick up.”

The Gilas women’s program is also buzzing with activities.