RELOADED GILAS
We can now have a full practice. We can now go over all our patterns and review them with three guys who were absent
After the conclusion of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup last Friday, Gilas Pilipinas will finally have the full attention of the players as head coach Yeng Guiao expects a perfect attendance today at the Meralco Gym.
June Mar Fajardo of the newly-crowned Commissioner’s Cup champion San Miguel Beer and RR Pogoy and Troy Rosario of the losing finalist TNT KaTropa are set to join the pool for the first time in a long while.
“We can now have a full practice. We can now go over all our patterns and review them with three guys who were absent,” said Guiao, who missed the trio during their 10-day training camp in Spain.
“More or less, they already have an idea on our system so they’ll just review them,” he added.
With a little over a week left before the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Basketball World Cup 2019 in China, the Phl 5 is pressed for time to achieve the things they needed and reach their full potential.
Playing without Fajardo, Pogoy and Rosario, whom Guiao said are shoo-ins for the final lineup, Gilas 5 went 3-1 in its Spain trip, scoring victories over Congo and Ivory Coast.
But Guiao seemed not bothered by their absence as the three are holdovers of the previous national team though he admitted there’ll be lapses again when they plunge to training today.
“The rest of the guys aside from these three are already okay. Our system is already ingrained on them but if you put the three and they commit even just one mistake, it will ruin the whole play and the system, Guiao said.
“There’s going to be a transition period before they recall everything we did before when they were still practicing. There’s going to be a shift in their mentality since they were totally focused on their mother teams’ systems in the finals. I think that’s the only important thing for tomorrow,” he added.
Guiao said the challenge to the three is to remove the distraction and focus on the Gilas system.
Another concern is their condition as they played six grueling matches in the best-of-seven championship series.
“We’re just concerned about their recovery. I’m not sure if their rest from Friday to Monday is enough. That’s our only concern,” Guiao stated.
“But aside from that, we don’t see any problem. The three just came from a best-of-seven series so I’m certain they are fit and they don’t have any known injuries,” he added.
The team will play a pair of closed-door tune-up games against the Adelaide 36ers on 23 and 25 August and Guiao said after those scrimmages, he will announce the the 12-man lineup for the World Cup.
“Our last game against the 36ers is 25 so I’m sure the line-up will be announced on 26 August. If not, the latest will be on 27. That’s the time we’ll leave for China,” Guiao said.