Nationals come home to cool their heels before closing Asia Cup window on the road
Gilas Pilipinas flies back home on Monday bearing lessons from a short stint in Doha, Qatar, which the Filipinos can immediately put to use against two familiar opponents on their respective home turfs.
The Nationals played world No. 38 Egypt in the wee hours of Monday morning—barely a full day removed from a 75-54 loss at the hands of continental rival Lebanon—to close out a pocket tournament that served as a tuneup for the final window of the Asia Cup Qualifiers they will play on the road.
Next up for the gallant Filipinos are Chinese Taipei and New Zealand, the final games that carry some weight before they fly to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, six months from now for the main event.
“We’ve been together for about a year now under the system of coach Tim Cone, and we feel like we’re getting used to it,” guard CJ Perez said in one of the interviews ahead of the four-nation friendlies.
“We’re looking at the bigger picture here. The players are busy in different leagues, so we have limited time being together,” said Calvin Oftana. “So we’re not taking this chance for granted. Every day is important to us.”
Already in the continental showpiece in August with a 4-0 mark, Gilas battles the Chinese and the Tall Blacks—two sides they convincingly beat in their previous meetings—for games that will determine their seeding in the field that will feature the Cedars—whom they lost steam against in Doha last Sunday—Jordan, along with regional powerhouses Japan, New Zealand and World No. 7 Australia.
Chinese are up
Gilas takes on Chinese Taipei on Thursday at Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium, hoping to score another blowout against a side that only has five players present when the Filipinos bamboozled them, 106-53, in Pasig City back in February 2024.
However, the Chinese squad’s 16-man roster for the rematch has head coach Gianluca Tucci excited.
“Tough situation because we are in the middle of a season. Some players are missing, but we’ve selected very motivated players,” the Italian mentor said. “[But] also happy that there are new players because that means there would be new motivations. We’ll do our best.”
The Chinese, who are also scheduled to play Hong Kong a few nights later, are looking to score at least one win in this culminating window to lock up a third-place finish in the pool race that affords them a chance to compete for a wildcard spot to the Asia Cup.
Gilas, for its part, will then fly to Auckland and play the 3-1 Kiwis on Sunday morning (Manila time) at Spark Arena in a highly-anticipated rematch that extends the two nations’ previously one-sided rivalry.
The Filipinos prevailed in their last encounter, hacking out a 93-89 decision riding the shoulders of young cornerstone Kai Sotto, who has since been shelved due to a knee ligament tear.
The Tall Blacks, like the Nationals, have also qualified for the continental showpiece. They hope to make things even with Gilas, bringing over several new faces for the grudge match.
“The ultimate goal is to get top seed out of our pool so that we position ourselves in the best pool when it comes to the Asia Cup in August,” head coach Judd Flavell said recently in a news bulletin. “So we need to win both games. That’s the job we have in front of us.”
