Gilas Pilipinas Boys’ Under-18 squad will be slotted in the only group that will feature four teams come the 2022 FIBA Under-18 Asian Championship, which takes place from August 21-28 at Azadi Basketball Hall in Tehran, Iran.
The Philippines will be grouped with Syria (August 21), Qatar (22), and Chinese-Taipei (23) in the continental meet that has four slots in the FIBA Under-19 World Cup at stake.
Unique though will be the format of this tournament as only 10 nations have confirmed their participation in it.
Group A will feature Iran, Japan, and Lebanon while Group B has China, South Korea, and India.
Yes, both Australia and New Zealand have backed out of the tournament.
After the group phase, the rankings will be merged with the bottom two teams being eliminated. The best two teams will be in Pot D and will face the teams in Pot G (7th and 8th ranked squads). Pot E (3rd and 4th) will figure in knockout crossover quarterfinals as well with Pot F squads.
Back in 2018, the Philippines finished in fourth place.
Josh Reyes will serve as head coach of Gilas Youth.
His pool includes Kyle Gamber, Mason Amos, Kobe Demisana, James Nacua, Ramon Salvoro, EJ Abadam, Mur Alao, Ethan Alian, Luis Pablo, Seven Gagate, LA Andres, Joshua Coronel, Jared Bahay, Xavier Chio, Kristian Porter, and Nathan Victoria.