It will mean redemption of sorts for both squads, as Gilas Pilipinas and Chinese Taipei meet anew in the FIBA World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers on Friday at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium in Taipei, Taiwan.
Game time is at 7:00 PM, with the Filipinos facing not just the team itself but the hostile Taiwanese crowd as well. According to FIBA.com, tickets were already sold out days prior to the much-anticipated rematch.
Gilas is not just looking for a repeat to its 90-83 come-from-behind win, but a win that is more impressive than the one in November.
Head coach Chot Reyes has therefore decided to field in a tried and tested line-up with the likes of Andray Blatche, Jayson Castro, Gabe Norwood, Japeth Aguilar, Calvin Abueva, June Mar Fajardo, and a healthy Terrence Romeo.
Of the veterans, Blatche is surely looking to redeem himself. In the first Gilas-Chinese Taipei match, the 6-foot-10 slotman was nearly a non-factor, as he only had six points with six errors. He had 14 rebounds and five swats though.
Completing the unit is gunner Allein Maliksi, and young-yet-seasoned players Jio Jalalon, Roger Pogoy, and Matthew Wright, who won’t find it hard to play in Taipei Heping as they had already graced the place back in the 2017 Jones Cup.
Gilas is already assured of a spot in the second round, but a win will help them gain momentum going forward. They need all the rhythm they can get, as they will next face the Australia Boomers on July 2.
The Filipino dribblers’ clash with the Taiwanese will be a great preparation for their clash with the Aussies, who have beefed up even more with the addition of NBA cagers in Matthew Dellavedova and 7-foot-1 Thon Maker.
But Chinese Taipei is hungry to get back at Gilas.
The Taiwanese last fought Gilas back in November 25 in the opening window of the Asian Qualifiers, in a meeting that turned into a nightmare. Chinese Taipei lost hold of a 14-point lead.
Chinese Taipei definitely doesn’t want that to happen again. So this time around, they called up their players from the Chinese Basketball Association to bring their chances higher of upending the Southeast Asian kings.
Naturalized center Quincy Davis III – who led Chinese Taipei in that loss to Gilas with 20 points and nine rebounds – is back to man the middle. Veteran internationalists Tseng Wen Ting and Lu Cheng Ju are also back in the fold.
The Taiwanese are in dire need of a win over Gilas to keep afloat their hopes of advancing into the next round. They are currently third in Group B with a 1-3 record – their lone win came against Japan back in the second window.
