GILAS Pilipinas will have an early collision course against New Zealand come the 2022 Fiba Asia Cup in Jakarta.
The Philippines, which was placed in Pot B for the draw, ended up being bracketed with New Zealand, Lebanon, and India for the tournament set from July 12 to 24 at Istora Gelora Bung Karno.
Here are complete groupings for the 2022 Fiba Asia Cup:
Group A: Australia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia.
Group B: China, Korea, Chinese Taipei, Bahrain.
Group C: Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Syria.
Group D: New Zealand, Philippines, Lebanon, India.
Interestingly, Gilas will have an early chance to reacquaint themselves with New Zealand and India as they face off with these same teams in the Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers at Smart Araneta Coliseum next week.
Aside from that duel, these squads still have one more go-round in the third window of the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers in June before their clash at the continental tourney.
The 2022 Fiba Asia Cup will just be one of the tourneys that Gilas will prepare for in a loaded 2022 calendar, together with the next windows of the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers, the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games in March, and the Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi this May.
Gilas is looking to improve on its seventh place finish in the 2017 staging in Lebanon, curiously with coach Chot Reyes calling the shots in a national team led by Jayson Castro, Terrence Romeo, Calvin Abueva, and Christian Standhardinger.
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