Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
    View Today
    Sun, Nov 5

    Gilas begins preparation against Bahrain in Asian Games opener

    Gilas braces for Bahrainis, led by former PBA import Wayne Chism
    Sep 23, 2023
    Wayne Chism Bahrain
    Former PBA import Wayne Chism leads Bahrain.
    PHOTO: fiba.basketball

    GILAS Pilipinas has started its scouting of its opponents, particularly Bahrain, its first foe in the 19th Asian Games men’s basketball on Tuesday in Hangzhou, China.

    Gilas scouting on Bahrain

    Head coach Tim Cone and the rest of Gilas have started to familiarize themselves with Bahrain through film viewing during Saturday’s practice, their final session before leaving for Hangzhou.

    Bahrain is coming off a high after being one of the five teams that made it to next year’s Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament via the pre-qualifiers. Bahamas, Cameron, Poland, and Croatia were the other teams.

    Bahrain’s three-point shooting will be one of the talking points of Gilas Pilipinas in their match-up, citing Mosti Rashed, who nailed 10 three pointers in their game against Syria during the Fiba Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament just month.

    Former PBA import Wayne Chism is also playing for Bahrain as its naturalized player.

    “Watched a little bit of video on Bahrain today. They are going to pose some problems because they shoot the ball really well. They put a lot of pressure out there. They are not a big team which is unusual for a Middle Eastern team. Usually, Middle Eastern teams are really big, but they [Bahrain] are a little different that they are quick and they shoot.”

    “One kid there shot 10 three-pointers in the game. He’s really aggressive and can shoot it so we are not taking Bahrain lightly. I think they are going to be a challenge out there,” said Cone.

    While the full focus of Cone is on Bahrain, Gilas is also preparing to study their next two opponents in Thailand and Jordan, two teams that are very familiar with the Philippine team.

    Thailand has been one of the rivals of Gilas in the Southeast Asian Games, while Jordan has also been a Philippine opponent in the Fiba World Cup qualifiers, with its naturalized player Rondae Hollis-Jefferson an import of TNT.

    The Philippines’ match against Jordan could be a possible match for the top seed in Group A and a direct place in the quarterfinals.

    Cone added assistant coach Jong Uichico has also been tasked to also take a glimpse of the other teams in the Asian Games including China, Japan, Korea, and Iran.

    ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓

    “We know [Thailand] pretty well. Morgan, Lamb, Lish, we know those guys. And the coaching staff knows Jordan pretty well too. We played Jordan a couple of times. Justin (Brownlee) and June Mar (Fajardo) played against them once. And of course, we know Rondae and Rondae knows all of us. It should be a marquee game, that one with Jordan. After that, we will see what our record is at that point. Hopefully, we are still alive and going into the next round,” said Cone.

    MORE FROM SPIN
    MORE FROM SPIN

      Cone though reiterates that the main focus first is the Bahrain match.

      “We don’t look that far ahead, just locked into what we are doing right here. We’re more locked into Bahrain than anything else. I’m a big believer in one plane at a time. You land one plane at a time. You try to land three of four planes at a time, you’re gonna have crashes. So you take your time, land one, and land the next one, you land the next one. We are going to take Bahrain very seriously. And then, we are going to put our other coaches, each coach will have an assignment on each team.”

      CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓
      Watch Now

      “So while we are focusing on Bahrain as a group, there’s always a coach that is focused on Thailand and there’s another coach focusing on Jordan. And then in the meantime, coach Jong, who is really our lead scout, he’ll be out there watching Korea and Japan, and their games on the other side, watching China, watching Iran, and checking on those guys and getting things prepared,” said Cone.

      Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

      Read Next
      Watch Now
      Sorry, no results found for
      Former PBA import Wayne Chism leads Bahrain.
      PHOTO: fiba.basketball
    • POLL

      • Quiz

        Quiz Result