Gilas braces for tough grind in Euro trip

Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes is looking at playing European national squads Estonia and Finland, along with cage powerhouse Lithuania as part of the Philippines’ major buildup for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which the country is co-hosting along with Japan and Indonesia beginning on August 25.

Reyes admitted he’s being piecing together some of the details for the European trip while the Philippines was playing in the recent Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.

Gilas managed to dethrone Indonesia in the crossover semifinals, before subduing the host country, 80-69 en route to reclaiming the men’s basketball gold medal.

“Right now, it appears like we’re going to go to Estonia first to play Estonia and Finland in Tallin, then go to Lithuania after that, and play another four games. Hopefully, we can play Lithuania, Latvia, and a couple more very strong European teams,” Reyes said during his recent guest appearance at Playitright TV, a sports Youtube channel co-hosted by veteran sports analyst Quinito Henson and Dyan Castillejo.

The many-time Gilas mentor said they are looking to “get our asses kicked,” noting that playing against very strong national teams is a must in order to get themselves ready for the FIBA World Cup.

“That’s what happened to us in 2014. We went to France, then we went to Valencia in Spain and, we just got our ass kicked left and right so that when the World Cup came, we were playing at a very high level,” he stressed.

And while Reyes initially said, Gilas might also fly to the United States for further training, that trip seems to be under review.

“I don’t know about the U.S. because we can’t play anyone,” explained Reyes, who recently declared he is retiring from coaching the national team in future SEA Games. “The college teams can’t play the national teams and there’s only one college that got special exemption. I don’t want to play one college four or five times. I want to be able to go to a place and play quality teams, not pickup selections, not All-Star teams, but teams because that’s where we will get the greatest benefits.”

The 59-year-old Reyes explained that he’s looking at a 16 to 18-man Gilas pool for the World Cup, with the first official practice beginning on June 1.

“We will practice (in Manila) for a couple of weeks, get in shape, get some sort of system at work before going elsewhere so we can be in game shape before flying off to Europe,” he said.

Without naming names, Reyes said he’s already talked to players, who will be part of the pool, reminding them there are no “shoo-ins” once included in the pool.

“It’s no joke on what we are asking but again, the World Cup is still far away. Injuries or personal circumstances, there are so many things (that could happen) so to decide on the 12-man lineup right now, I don’t think is the best course of action (at this point),” he said.

The Philippines is looking at improving on its one-win total from the 2014 FIBA World Cup edition in Seville, Spain.

Gilas Pilipinas is bracketed with world no. 10 Italy, Dominican Republic and Angola in Group A for the World Cup after the draw ceremony held last April 29 at the Big Dome.