Taking home the silver in the recently concluded 2015 Jones Cup in Taiwan, Gilas is expected to win handily over Palestine, a first timer in the FIBA Asia games.
The Philippines has won four gold medals and three bronzes in previous Jones Cup games. The 2015 silver medal is the country’s first in the the competition.
The national team has landed in Group B in the FIBA draw which includes Kuwait, Hong Kong and Palestine.
On Thursday, Sept. 24, Gilas will face Hong Kong at 9:30 a.m. while on Friday, Sept. 25, the team will collide with Kuwait at 4:45 p.m.
Gilas has the opportunity to score impressively against the three teams in the grouping for psychological advantage, as they move on to tangle with the superior teams later in the tournament.
“The reality is we should control those games reasonably well. Those are games where we can continue to evolve our system, refine and perfect what we’re trying to do,” Gilas Coach Tab Baldwin said.
“We need to be dominant of those games for our mentality and psychology,” he added.
Gilas final roster includes Calvin Abueva, Andray Blatche, Ranidel De Ocampo, Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, Dondon Hontiveros, JC Intal, Gabe Norwood, Marc Pingris,Terrence Romeo, Asi Taulava, Sonny Thoss and Jayson William.
The national team must win the FIBA Asia tournament in order to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics
