Courtesy: FIBA
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas braces for a hectic second half of the year as the Gilas Pilipinas 5-on-5 teams compete in all-important tournaments in the coming months.
First to plunge into action are the Gilas Pilipinas Women in the FIBA Women’s Pre-Olympic Qualifier set August 17-23 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Gilas Women, now led by newly-appointed head coach BT Toews, are also gearing up for the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya Japan, slated September 17-26.
Meanwhile, Gilas Pilipinas Men will start their rigorous grind next month in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers with the fourth window set Aug 28 and 30 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The nationals, who are hard-pressed to improve their 2-4 win-loss record in Group E, will face Jordan on the 28th before taking on Iran on the 30th.
After the Asian Qualifiers, the Tim Cone-mentored squad will fly to Korea for a two-game friendly set September 4 and 6, as part of their build-up for their title defense of the Asian Games men’s 5-on-5 basketball.
From Korea, they will head straight to Nagoya in time for the Asiad men’s 5-on-5 basketball competitions scheduled Sept. 10 to 20.
Meantime, the Gilas Youth Men will compete in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup from August 13-23 in Ahmedabad, India while the Gilas Youth Women will have their turn from October 4-10 in the FIBA Women’s U18 Asia Cup in Seremban, Malaysia.
Both U18 tournaments will serve as qualifiers for next year’s FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup in Czechia and U19 Women’s World Cup in Chengdu China.
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