Gilas Pilipinas to play Estonia, Finland in Europe trip
Published May 27, 2023 06:23 am
The Gilas Pilipinas preparations for the FIBA 2023 World Cup is shifting to a higher gear once the national team embarks on a European trip that will see it test its mettle against tough teams Estonia and Finland.
The first of the series of its planned training camps overseas, Gilas will get a chance to gauge itself against a fellow World Cup bound team in Finland which is expected to be reinforced by Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen. “We are going to play a pocket tournament in Estonia to play against the Estonian national team and then Finland as well. It’s a very good tune-up for us,” shared Reyes in an interview with former PSC commissioner Noli Eala in Power and Play with Kom Noli. Also part of the trip is a camp in Lithuania and possibly Latvia although Gilas is not expected to play the Lithuanian team that will be led by Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis. "From there we are going to Lithuania, hopefully getting a stopover in Latvia. We are trying to get a game against their (Lithuania) U21 team, that’s a very strong team and some of their top ranked teams as well,” shared Reyes. “That’s our schedule from June to July,” said Reyes who also shared some details on the team’s plans for the final stretch of their preparations before the global tiff in August. Although still not cast in stone yet, a possible pocket tournament in China is still in the works just weeks before the World Cup. “We will have a tournament shaping up some time in August in China. We have an invitation but hindi pa final ‘yun. We will make an announcement when all of those become finalized,” he added. Such training camps and pocket tournaments will be huge for Gilas heading into the preliminary stage of the competition where it needs to place second in its group that features European powerhouse Italy, higher ranked Dominican Republic and a formidable Angola team. With all the plans already laid out, the first order of business for the national team is to get its players back for training by June 7 instead of the initial scheduled start on June 1. “We initially announced a June 1 resumption but there are certain players who are still tired and nursing slight injuries, may sakit. So we moved back the resumption to June 7 to give players more time to rest and prepare their bodies,” Reyes explained “The first order of business is to resume on June 7.”
*Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes bares plans for Europe trip (FIBA photo)
*The first of the series of its planned training camps overseas, Gilas will get a chance to gauge itself against a fellow World Cup bound team in Finland which is expected to be reinforced by Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen. “We are going to play a pocket tournament in Estonia to play against the Estonian national team and then Finland as well. It’s a very good tune-up for us,” shared Reyes in an interview with former PSC commissioner Noli Eala in Power and Play with Kom Noli. Also part of the trip is a camp in Lithuania and possibly Latvia although Gilas is not expected to play the Lithuanian team that will be led by Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis. "From there we are going to Lithuania, hopefully getting a stopover in Latvia. We are trying to get a game against their (Lithuania) U21 team, that’s a very strong team and some of their top ranked teams as well,” shared Reyes. “That’s our schedule from June to July,” said Reyes who also shared some details on the team’s plans for the final stretch of their preparations before the global tiff in August. Although still not cast in stone yet, a possible pocket tournament in China is still in the works just weeks before the World Cup. “We will have a tournament shaping up some time in August in China. We have an invitation but hindi pa final ‘yun. We will make an announcement when all of those become finalized,” he added. Such training camps and pocket tournaments will be huge for Gilas heading into the preliminary stage of the competition where it needs to place second in its group that features European powerhouse Italy, higher ranked Dominican Republic and a formidable Angola team. With all the plans already laid out, the first order of business for the national team is to get its players back for training by June 7 instead of the initial scheduled start on June 1. “We initially announced a June 1 resumption but there are certain players who are still tired and nursing slight injuries, may sakit. So we moved back the resumption to June 7 to give players more time to rest and prepare their bodies,” Reyes explained “The first order of business is to resume on June 7.”