Gilas as set for battle
GILAS Pilipinas practiced with its final 12 on Friday before leaving for the Hangzhou Asian Games.
A day after participating in a tuneup match, CJ Perez, Chris Ross, Kevin Alas and Arvin Tolentino trained with the Philippine men’s basketball team.
Terrence Romeo, Calvin Abueva, Jason Perkins and Mo Tautuaa were not there.
“I can't imagine anything changing by this time,” said coach Tim Cone.
The team was thus set days before the first game against Bahrain, with Justin Brownlee, June Mar Fajardo, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Marcio Lassiter and Ange Kouame going for a medal in the continental competition.
Arakji and Co. out of Asiad
LEBANON has pulled out its men’s basketball team from the 19th Asian Games.
The team that would have had Wael Arakji, Omari Spellman and Amir Saoud was withdrawn due to “injuries to its players.”
Lebanon will be replaced by Hong Kong in in Group B, which has Chinese Taipei, Mongolia and China.
Group A has Iran, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and UAE, the Philippines in is Group C with Bahrain, Thailand and Jordan, while Group D features Japan, Indonesia, Qatar and South Korea.
Action gets going
OLYMPIC bronze medalist Eumir Marcial sees action right away after the Asian Games opening ceremony as he takes on Dalai Ganzorig of Mongolia in the 80 kg class in boxing on Sunday.
Irish Magno takes on Nigina Uktamova of Uzbekistan in the women’s bantamweight class.
Olympic swimming medalist Kayla Sanchez, who recently joined the Philippine team after earlier competing under the Canadian flag, sees action in the Asiad for the first time as she joins forces with fellow Olympian Jasmine Alkhaldi, Tiea Isabella Salvino and Miranda Renner in the 4x100 meter freestyle.
Agatha Wong competes in the women’s taijiquan/taijijan (sword play) event of wushu.
Judoka Shugen Nakano faces Saoud Almamiri of Kuwait in the men’s 66 kg class.
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.
