GIANT PROGRESS

Gilas Pilipinas seeks to ignite a stellar run after gaining momentum from a big win in the 10th King Abdullah Cup in Amman, Jordan.

Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin said they are slowly getting to their peak form as their shots started to fall in during their 77-62 win over Saudi Arabia late Tuesday at the Prince Hamzah Hall.

“It does require some time in the process,” Baldwin, whose wards are now carrying a 1-1 card, said.

The Nationals recovered from their 58-73 loss to Egypt as they shut the lights off and overwhelmed a seasoned Arab squad, which is still shooting for a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup next year.

Against Saudi, swingman Justine Baltazar carried the torched and displayed a fiery performance with 16 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the three point clip, along with three rebounds and four assists.

It does require some time in the process.

Naturalized center Ange Kouame delivered 10 points and six rebounds while Isaac Go also registered 10 markers and three boards.

Getting that confidence-building win was crucial as the young and developing squad faces an unfamiliar opponent in host nation Jordan Team B.

Gilas assistant coach Jong Uichico said they are raring to go for back-to-back wins and capitalize on this six-team invitational tourney.

The cadets will face a tougher team in Jordan Team A, which had also already secured its slot in the Asia Cup in 2022.

Only the top four teams will advance to the King’s Cup knockout semifinals on Saturday.

“We need to learn the physicality of international games. We need to get used to that and be able to play consecutive games,” Uichico said.