TimCone (right) shows June Mar Fajardo the ropes during practice. —PHOTO FROMSBP’S FACEBOOK PAGE
Gilas Pilipinas will head into the Fiba Asia Cup this week carrying some confidence and belief that it can compete against all comers after winning all two tuneup matches, including Saturday’s 75-61 mastery of Jordan in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Even with that being said, coach Tim Cone still believes that there’s still more work to be done before Gilas swings into action on Tuesday local time (Wednesday in the Philippines) against Chinese-Taipei to begin the continental competition.
“I don’t think we’re there yet,” Cone said in an interview with One Sports. “But I think these games will go a long way in helping us where we want to get to.”
The national team will now set its sights on starting the Asia Cup on a bright note, with vengeance also in mind against the Taiwanese side that beat the Filipinos in the final window of the Qualifiers last February.
Chinese-Taipei named its final roster on Sunday with brothers Robert and Adam Hinton, Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga and naturalized player Brandon Gilbeck as parts of the team.
Cone is also hoping to see an in-form Calvin Oftana and June Mar Fajardo, who have slowly been integrated back into the system after being rested due to injuries sustained in the PBA Philippine Cup.
The exhibition against Jordan was held under closed doors at Al Ahli Sports Club, and details of the game were limited to just pictures from the social media accounts of Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and the Jordan Basketball Federation.
The only details revealed were that Gilas led, 40-29, at the half and 55-47 at the end of the third quarter.
Outside shots from Oftana, Dwight Ramos, Kevin Quiambao and Scottie Thompson prevented Jordan from making a comeback in the fourth and seal Gilas’ follow-up to its 103-98 victory over the Macau Black Bears last Monday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Gilas resumed practice on Sunday at the same facility as it will also look to find ways to win games with just Fajardo and AJ Edu down low.
Kai Sotto is out of the Asia Cup due to ongoing recovery from ACL surgery, leaving Gilas with the urgency of dealing with what it has.
“We have to make do without him, for now,” said Edu. “Everyone just has to step up and [against Macau] you saw how many people stepped up.”
Meanwhile, Fajardo and Perez are not the only San Miguel Beer players set to play in the Asia Cup as Philippine Cup Finals Most Valuable Player Jericho Cruz left for Jeddah to join Guam’s maiden campaign in the tournament.
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Cruz will be looking to give Guam something to remember despite a tough Group B that includes Japan, Iran and Syria. INQ
