The 2023 FIBA World Cup may still be six years from now, but Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes, like the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, already has major plans for basketball’s biggest spectacle.
It starts with the creation of a basketball calendar here in the country that will mesh accordingly not just with the 2023 showpiece per se, but with the tough road that the national team will have to tread heading into that event.
“We will need to plan a calendar now pa lang and not wait until 2021 or 2022 to put that calendar together,” said the veteran strategist during the SBP-hosted celebration of the country’s 2023 World Cup hosting, Thursday at Crowne Plaza.
“Dapat ngayon pa lang may plano na tayo. As we develop the players, we develop as well the conditions to make the team at its’ strongest in 2023.”
Reyes’ plan looks to be a demanding one. And that is why as early as now, the seasoned internationalist is calling for all the local leagues to collaborate in this quest of theirs.
“It’s going to be a difficult task but we have to seek the assistance of all the stakeholders in basketball. Not only the PBA, but the commercial leagues — even the UAAP and the college leagues,” said the former PBA head coach.
And aside from his proposal of a calendar, Reyes and his staff are now looking at the players who can possibly make up the Gilas pool for 2023, which might have the likes of Kiefer Ravena, Roger Pogoy, and even Kai Sotto.
“Who they are, we (coaches) still have to sit down and identify players,” said the long-time national team tactician. “Pero like what chairman MVP said, its’ most likely players who are between 26 and 32 years old in 2023.
“We’re not discounting an exception of 22, 23-year-olds, of course, pero most probably it’s within that [range].”
