GILAS Pilipinas tests its mettle against Iran and Senegal, two teams with obvious size and heft, as it kicks off its campaign in the Heyuan WUS International Basketball Tournament in Guandong, China.
The national team take to the court of the Heyuan Sport Gymnasium at 8 p.m. on Thursday against the Iranians in its debut in the six-day, three-nation tournament serving as a tune-up for two FIBA World Cup-bound squads.
READ: Can Gilas be competitive at World Cup without Kai Sotto? Watch SPIN POV
The following day, the Filipinos take on the Senegalese at Jiangman En Ping Sports gymnasium.
Gilas will have a glimpse of how its opponents play as Iran and Senegal open hostilities on Wednesday night at the Chinese province formerly known as Canton.
“The thing we want is the experience of playing with great size. We know how tall, how big Iran is. We know how tall, how long Senegal is,” said Gilas mentor Chot Reyes after the team conducted its first practice upon arriving in Guandong early Tuesday evening.
“This is going to be a great test not only for the bigs, but for the rest of the team,” added Reyes, who celebrated his 60th birthday also on Tuesday.
Initially, the tournament involved Lebanon, but the team of Wael Arajki decided to back out at the last minute as it failed to complete the necessary requirements.
After a break on August 5, Gilas returns to action on the 6th against Senegal at the Heyuan Sports Gymnasium and then a return bout with Iran the following day at the Xiaoqing Sport Center.
“Can we rebound against these teams? That’s the No. 1 thing. And No. 2, can we finds ways not to get overpowered inside and all throughout. Those are the two things we really want to look at,” said Reyes.
“Finally of course, we want to gauge how far we’ve come and what else we need to work on.”
Reyes will rely on a 13-man team during the pocket meet as injured players Scottie Thompson, Kai Sotto, and Poy Erram didn’t join the trip, along with naturalized players Jordan Clarkson, Justin Brownlee, and Ange Kouame.
The team is composed of PBA six-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, CJ Perez, Dwight Ramos, Chris Newsome, Kiefer Ravena, Rhenz Abando, Roger Pogoy, Bobby Ray Parks Jr., Thirdy Ravena, AJ Edu, Calvin Oftana, and Rhenz Abando.
Parks, Oftana, and Pogoy are joining Gilas in its overseas training for the first time after missing out on the European trip last month due to injuries.
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