GILAS Pilipinas will leave for Malaysia on Nov. 21 for the penultimate window of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers.
The departure date gives coach Tim Cone and the national team at least five days to get used to the environment in the City of Seremban and get more accustomed to the court of the Karisma Arena.
Seremban is an hour away by car from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.
Cone is expected to conduct a mini-camp in Malaysia in a bid to boost Gilas’ standings in the tight race for a berth in next year’s World Cup in Doha, Qatar.
The national team will be going to Seremban a day after the Filipino overseas players arrive from Japan and South Korea upon their release by their respective mother ballclubs.
The overseas players include Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Kevin Quiambao, and possibly, Kai Sotto. Carl Tamayo’s hurting ankle could make him unavailable for the window.
Newly-naturalized Bennie Boatwright could also be arriving around that time pending his release from his Chinese team Fujian Sturgeons in the CBA.
The national team – at least half of them – would have started practicing this week had San Miguel not forced a deciding Game 5 against Barangay Ginebra in their PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals series.
The winner-take-all contest is set on Tuesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Gilas Pilipinas currently holds an even 4-4 record that is good for solo fifth place in Group E, trailing unbeaten Australia (6-0), New Zealand (6-2), Iran (5-3), and Jordan (5-3).
Syria is at the bottom of the group at 2-6.
The national team takes on Syria on Friday (Nov. 27) followed by the rematch against Iran on Sunday (Nov. 29).
Australia already clinched the first World Cup berth from the group, with the next two best teams also advancing outright.
The fourth-placed teams from Groups E and F will then be ranked against each other, with the best-ranked team claiming the final Asian qualification slot.
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