WHILE Italy has been in the spotlight recently, having won five straight tune-up games and announcing its final lineup a little under two weeks ahead of Fiba Basketball World Cup tipoff, Philippine team coach Chot Reyes noted that their focus is on the two other rivals in pool play.
“Italy is Italy … but our focus really is Dominican Republic and Angola because those are the two games we really have to win,” Reyes said.
Gilas goals
Gilas Pilipinas opens the tournament against the Dominican Republic on Aug. 25 and takes on Angola on Aug. 27.
The Philippines then plays Italy on Aug. 29.
“Of course, we’re going to talk about Italy. We saw them release their final 12 yesterday so we’re already in the process of compiling and breaking down the individual profiles of those 12,” Reyes explained.
“We know a lot about a lot of those players like [Luigi] Datome, [Nicolo] Melli, and [Simone] Fontecchio who played in the NBA so that’s something that we’ll also take care of,” he added.
And with the confirmation of Karl Anthony-Towns’ inclusion in Dominican Republic’s final 12-man roster, Reyes acknowledged it will be a tall order for Gilas on opening night.
“I don’t think there are many players, even in the NBA, who can stop KAT one-on-one,” Reyes said.
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