THE Gilas Pilipinas team bound for the 20th Asian Games will be smaller and therefore playing a more uptempo style compared to the national squad that has been playing in FIBA tournaments.
Gilas coach Tim Cone said the absence of overseas-based big men led by Kai Sotto and AJ Edu, PBA star June Mar Fajardo and Dwight Ramos has convinced the coaching staff that a faster pace of play is the way to go for the Asiad team.
READ Caelan Tiongson begs off from Asian Games-bound Gilas team
“From what I’ve seen from that team, they’re a lot of fun to watch,” said Cone, who designated his assistants led by Richard Del Rosario to oversee the preparations for the Asiad team while he focused on the last FIBA window.
“I think the fans and countrymen are going to have a lot of fun watching that team. It’s a different system. They’re not playing my system.
"They are playing a different system, more of an uptempo, push the ball, because they are a little bit smaller. They are smaller because they don’t have Kai, AJ, and June Mar playing. So they are smaller,” Cone said.
Robert Bolick of NLEX, Adrian Nocum of Rain or Shine, Sedrick Barefield of Blackwater, and Jerrick Ahanmisi of San Miguel are among the guards that have been called up for the Gilas squad to the Asiad to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
“They are going to use their speed and quickness to get up and down the floor. So it will be interesting to watch and see how they play against Jordan or Iran and kind of compare them to the window team,” Cone said.
The Asian Games team is leaving on Wednesday morning for a series of tune-up games in Suwon, Korea before their campaign in the quadrennial meet.
Their Asiad campaign begins on September 11 against Bahrain, followed by a game against Kazakhstan on the 12th. After a one-day break, Gilas will be going up against China on the 14th in a rematch of the Hangzhou Asiad semifinals.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
