Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Noli Eala said the Philippine developmental team will go through 80 international games for exposure against some of the world’s best ball clubs.
“Ang estimate ko po, we’ll be playing about almost 80 games, international games. That’s more than what the PBA gets,” said Eala.
In March, the Filipinos will head to Australia to face several pro-clubs from the National Basketball League. This will be followed by a trip to Serbia and Belgrade for a check on the improvement of their game.
Between April and May, the RP squad will do training in Las Vegas in the US before heading to Canada to face the Canadian national team. In May, Gilas will compete in the FIBA-Asia Champion’s Cup.
In June, they will fly back to Manila for a series of games with teams from Iran, New Zealand and possibly Japan and Korea. This will prepare the RP squad for the Jones Cup competition in July.
In August, the RP team will compete in the Fiba-Asia Stankovic Cup in Beirut, Lebanon before heading to the US again for a series of games against several NCAA teams. This will wind up their training program for the 16th Asian Games in November.
“That’s really some fantastic exposure for the national team,” said Eala.
The SBP chief said he hopes the Filipino players will be thoroughly prepared for the Asian Games after going through the 80-game schedule.
“Sana po lahat ng laro na ito, matututo ang players so by the time we go to Guangzhou in China, handang handa na ang Smart Gilas to play versus the top teams of the Asian championships,” he said.
Source: Dennis Gasgonia | abs-cbnnew.com
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