As part of their preparation for the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup, Gilas Pilipinas Men will be competing against Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, and host Jordan in the King Abdullah Cup from July 25 to August 3.
Gilas is presently back inside their training bubble at the INSPIRE Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna, with Thirdy Ravena as well as fellow returnees Allyn Bulanadi, Dave Ildefonso, Matt Nieto, and Rey Suerte, all coming back from injuries, part of the 19-man pool.
They join naturalized big Ange Kouame, Dwight Ramos, SJ Belangel, Justine Baltazar, William Navarro, RJ Abarrientos, Jordan Heading, Carl Tamayo, Mike Nieto, Geo Chiu, and team captain Isaac Go who wore the flag in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Belgrade, Serbia earlier this month. Also getting call-ups are Jaydee Tungcab, Kemark Carino, and Tzaddy Rangel.
The availability of 7-foot-2 wunderkind Kai Sotto, meanwhile, is yet to be determined.
Gilas Men program director Tab Baldwin will remain on the head coaching chair alongside assistants Jong Uichico, Sandy Arespacochaga, Boyet Fernandez, and Sandro Soriano. They are looking at the pocket tournament as yet another international arena where their young players can get more experience and exposure.
"It's the long-term vision of the program that we have to look at here. We have to take advantage of every minute of games that we can get," explained Baldwin. "We'll be going up against quality teams with different styles compared to the ones we faced in the Asia Cup Qualifiers."
"Jordan has always been one of the better teams in Asia so going up against them should be beneficial for our young squad. We're also looking forward to going up against Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Tunisia." remarked Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Special Assistant to the President Ryan Gregorio.
"The pandemic has made it very difficult to plan tune-up games so when the SBP found out about this possibility, we jumped on it as we know every game played will be helpful towards our goal of building a competitive team not just for the FIBA Asia Cup but for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023," he added.
Even better for the Filipinos, the pool is nearing full strength as almost everyone has recovered from injuries
"William and Carl are recovering from their respective injuries, but should be cleared within the week. Dwight, on the other hand, has fully recovered," detailed the head coach, talking about Ramos who sat out and Navarro and Tamayo who were hobbled in the OQT.
Baldwin, however, noted that Gilas will only bring 15 players to the King's Cup where they take on Egypt on July 26, 11 a.m.; Saudi Arabia on July 27, 8 a.m.; Jordan-B on July 28, 11 a.m.; Tunisia on July 29, 2 p.m.; and Jordan-A on July 30, 2 p.m.
The top four teams move on to the knockout semifinals and the victors there advance to the championship game.