BY REYNALD MAGALLON
A series of training camps in Europe and in the US as well as a pocket tournament against World Cup qualified countries are part of the initial road map for Gilas Pilipinas in the lead up to the FIBA 2023 World Cup.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, led by president Al Panlilio, presented the plans for Gilas’ three-month preparation before the World Cup which the country will be co-hosting with Japan and Indonesia in August during the Senate Committee on Sports hearing last Monday, Sept. 12.
Kicking off the preparations for the global showpiece is Gilas’ bid to reclaim the gold medal in the Southeast Asian games in Cambodia from May 5-14 before the national team names its 25-man pool for the World Cup on May 22.
“Starting the end of late April, Gilas will start practicing and the goal is first to win back the gold medal in the SEA Games in early May, and really prepare for the World Cup starting that time,” said Panlilio.
Leading the projected pool is NBA star Jordan Clarkson who according to Panlilio has committed to join the Gilas training six weeks before the tournament.
The pool is still subject to change but it was already composed of the national team that saw action in the fourth window of the qualifiers bannered by Clarkson, Kai Sotto, Japeth Aguilar and Dwight Ramos.
Jamie Malonzo, Roosevelt Adams, Thirdy and Kiefer Ravena, Scottie Thompson, Chris Newsome, Carl Tamayo, Ray Parks and Kevin Quiambao are also in the list of players projected to be part of the pool.
CJ Perez, RR Pogoy, June Mar Fajardo, JP Erram, Geo Chiu, Ange Kouame and two more naturalized players are also included.
Gilas will turn its training to higher notch come June when it plays a series of tune-up games and a camp in Europe. US training camp will be in July while a pocket tournament called MVP from Aug. 8-14 will be part of the team’s final preparations before the World Cup officially begins on Aug. 25.
