THE second window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers could wind up as Juan Gomez de Liaño’s debut in this iteration of Gilas Pilipinas under head coach Tim Cone.
Juan GDL is on track to play for this national team after he was cut during the first window late last year when the Philippines went up against Guam.
The Converge rookie was glad to share that he now has a better understanding of the system following his first full training camp with Gilas.
“Honestly, (I’m) happy to be back,” he said. “It’s always a blessing to be part of the crew, and just to get a feel with the guys again. Hopefully, I could help and contribute in my own ways.”
“For sure,” he then answered when asked about his comfort with offensive and defensive schemes. “I only had a couple of days before. Now, I think we have 10 days to prepare for the next game. I think I’m a lot more familiar with how coach runs the system offensively and defensively. It’s been going smooth.”
FiberXers on board
The FiberXers are well-represented in this Gilas training camp, as Justine Baltazar has also been called up with Kai Sotto missing the window owing to his continuing recovery from an ACL injury.
Gomez de Liaño is happy that Baltazar is back with the Philippine team, where they were also teammates during the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
READ: Balti puts 'misunderstanding' behind as he joins Gilas under Cone
“It’s always nice to have a teammate, for us to be able to represent Converge, the company, the franchise. It should be something to be proud of,” he said.
“I feel like Balti could help a lot... He could bring a lot to the table with his size and his experience. He is not new to the Gilas scene. We played together in Gilas during the pandemic. Happy to have him on board.”
Gilas faces New Zealand on February 26 and Australia on March 1, and even if the Philippines will play at home, Juan GDL said it's going to be a tall task to get through the Tall Blacks and the Boomers.
“It’s definitely going to be a tough window. I believe we’re gonna fight hard. We’re not going to underestimate any opponent. We are going to do our best to hopefully win both games," he said.
"I think we're capable of doing so, especially with the guys we have, with the pieces we have. They’ve been together for the past two to three years. I think we could continue to turn things around.”
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