Game Today (Foshan Lingnan Mingzhu Gymnasium)
1 p.m. – Batang Gilas vs Malaysia
Game time is at 1 p.m., with the latest batch of Batang Gilas, the tallest team ever assembled for the region’s top tourney for future cage stars, coming in with high expectations to make a strong run after a fifth-place finish back in 2015.
Veteran coach Mike Oliver, however, is not looking that far ahead, aware that the Malaysians could pull off some surprises in their early collision in Group B made tougher by the presence of world power and tourney favorite Australia.
“We will just take the competition one game at a time,” Oliver was quoted as saying in a report posted on the tourney’s official website. “That is how it is. If we say big things then people will expect. We are in a tough bracket with Australia, so we will just do our best.”
Oliver certainly got a glimpse of his team’s promising potential in the course of Batang Gilas’ buildup for the week-long tourney after having several tuneup matches against Fil-Am Sports USA, led by touted Fil-Am Jalen Green, Far Eastern University and Arellano last week.
Sotto, one of the tallest in the tourney at seven feet, is expected to lord it over in the lane with his shotblocking prowess while the 6-foot-1 Padrigao, along with key holdovers Mac Guadaña and RC Calimag, is tipped to lead the way offensively. (Jerome Lagunzad)
