FIBA World Cup

Gilas Pilipinas to face Finland, Estonia in Europe buildup for FIBA World Cup

Delfin Dioquino

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Gilas Pilipinas to face Finland, Estonia in Europe buildup for FIBA World Cup

GEAR UP. Chot Reyes and Gilas Pilipinas continue the grind for the FIBA World Cup.

FIBA

With three months to go before the FIBA World Cup, Gilas Pilipinas goes on a Europe trip that will take it to Estonia, Lithuania, and possibly, Latvia

MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas ramps up its preparation for the FIBA World Cup as it is set to face Estonia and Finland in a series of tuneup games in Europe.

After a successful redemption campaign in the Southeast Asian Games, head coach Chot Reyes said the national team will begin training on June 7 for the global hoops showdown, which will tip off in three months on August 25.

“We’re going to play in a pocket tournament in Estonia to play against the Estonian national team and Finland, which is a very good tuneup for us,” Reyes told the Power and Play program of Radyo Singko.

Finland, expected to be led by NBA star Lauri Markkanen, advanced to the World Cup as well.

Reyes added the squad will also have stops in Lithuania, and possibly, Latvia – two nations that also qualified for the World Cup to be co-hosted by the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia.

Lithuania will play in Group D in the Philippines, Finland will see action in Group E in Japan, and Latvia will compete in Group H in Indonesia.

“We’re going to go to Lithuania, hopefully get a stopover in Latvia in Riga to play Latvia. Unfortunately, the Lithuanian national team will not be available while we’re there,” said Reyes.

“But we’re trying to get a game against their under-21 team, whom we played already before in 2014. They’re a very strong team. Some of their top-ranked club teams as well who are also very strong teams.”

After the Europe trip that will run until July, Reyes said the team will return to the Philippines and gear up for a potential tiff in China just before the World Cup.

“We have another tournament that is shaping up sometime in August in China, we have another invitation,” Reyes said. “But those are not final. We will make the announcements when all of those become finalized.”

Bunched in Group A with Italy, Dominican Republic, and Angola, Gilas Pilipinas looks to redeem itself after going winless and winding up dead last out of the 32 participating countries in the previous World Cup in China.

Reyes said reaching the second round would be a successful campaign since it would put the Philippines in prime position to finish as the best-placed Asian team, which merits a slot in the Paris Olympics. – Rappler.com

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Delfin Dioquino

Delfin Dioquino dreamt of being a PBA player, but he did not have the skills to make it. So he pursued the next best thing to being an athlete – to write about them. He took up journalism at the University of Santo Tomas and joined Rappler as soon as he graduated in 2017.