GILAS Pilipinas will attempt to test their squad before continuing their preparations for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, with a friendly encounter against the NBA player-laiden Taiwan Mustangs on Monday.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) announced on Facebook that the national team will play a send-off exhibition contest at the Philsports Arena, with free entrance for supporters.
In the upcoming Olympic Qualifiers, which will take place from July 2 to 7, the Philippines will have to pass through Georgia and Latvia, the host country of their group. The other group consists of Cameroon, Brazil, and Montenegro.
Only the top two teams from each group will advance to the crossover semifinals, where the two winning teams will compete for one of the four remaining basketball spots to the Paris Olympics.
With that in mind, facing the Taiwan Mustangs would help them ramp up their preparations, as the team is made up of high-caliber players and would provide a strong first challenge for the national team.
The Taiwan Mustangs were able to get the services of seasoned NBA player and former Strong Group Athletics import Dwight Howard, along with Quinn Cook, and DeMarcus Cousins to strengthen their team for The Asian Tournament.
However, fans may have to wait a little longer to watch the three former Los Angeles Lakers play together. According to a report, Taiwan Mustangs coach Chris Gavina stated that there is no assurance of seeing them on Monday.
“Quinn Cook and Cousins are eager to play but we’re trying our best in such a short time to make it happen,” said Gavina, the former head coach of Rain or Shine.
“But as I told coach Richard (Del Rosario) and coach Jong (Uichico) that I couldn’t promise them Dwight, Cook, and Cousins would be able to show up.” added Gavina.
Gilas Pilipinas will be led by Justin Brownlee, who has already arrived in the nation. He will join Gilas’ practice today at Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna, following a successful stay with Pelita Jaya in Indonesia.
Chris Newsome, MVP of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals, will join him, as will June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez, championship opponents. Scottie Thompson and Calvin Oftana will also be joining them.
The young guns include Dwight Ramos, Kevin Quiambao, Kai Sotto, and Carl Tamayo. Meanwhile, AJ Edu and Jamie Malonzo will be out from this competition, replaced by Japeth Aguilar and Mason Amos.
Following the exhibition against the Taiwanese squad, the Filipinos will travel out of the country on June 25 to play more tune-up games against the national teams of Turkey and Poland.
