GILAS Pilipinas eyes another win over Congo and set up a potential encounter with host Spain at the start of the four-team pocket tournament early Saturday in Malaga.
The Nationals battle the Congolese cagers at 1:30 a.m. Manila time at the Torneo de Malaga with the winner advancing to the championship game of the pocket tournament against either the 2006 FIBA world champion Spain or Ivory Coast.
Coach Yeng Guiao’s squad arrived in Malaga after spending the past three days in Guadalajara.
During their stay, the national squad beat Congo, 102-80, and Ivory Coast, 94-83, at the Palacio Multiusos de Guadalajara.
“Winning these two African teams gives us confidence that we can play against bigger and stronger teams,” Guiao told ESPN5’s SportsCenter Philippines.
Naturalized player Andray Blatche hopes to repeat his strong showing against Congo when he posted 25 points.
But Guiao believes Gilas will have a harder time against Congo, which he felt underestimated them when the two nations first met.
“We’ll have a tougher time against Congo,” Guiao said. “I think they underestimate us because we were smaller and thinner.”
The possibly of battling Spain in the final will be beneficial for Gilas ahead of its Group D games in the FIBA World Cup against Italy on Aug. 31 and Serbia on Sept. 2 in Foshan, China.
“This is going to approximate our games against Italy and Serbia. Masusukat nanaman natin sarili natin dito kung hanggang san tayo,” said Guiao. (JONAS TERRADO)
