Gilas Pilipinas will have to move heaven and earth to contain Dominican Republic star and bonafide NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns in their opening game in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 at the Philippine Arena this coming Friday.
Make no mistake, Gilas head coach Chot Reyes is acutely aware of the challenge ahead. This is why they dedicated Tuesday’s practice exclusively to refining their defensive strategy against the Minnesota Timberwolves’ prominent player and the rest of the Los Quisqueyanos team.
“As you can see in practice today, we spent almost the entire practice just trying to get ready for Dominican Republic,” Reyes told members of the press after the team’s training session at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Dominican Republic exhibited remarkable progress with Towns leading the way during their preparation for the global basketball event.
Despite suffering defeats in their initial two warm-up matches against Puerto Rico (86-93) and Latvia (69-74), the Dominican Republic, ranked 23rd globally, secured a surprising victory over the 15th-ranked Canada with a score of 94-88. They also challenged the reigning FIBA World Cup champion Spain, pushing them to their limits in a close 77-86 encounter.
“Yeah, well Dominican Republic beat Canada and Canada beat Spain. Dominican [Republic] also fought Spain in a very close match. If only KAT didn’t foul out in that last quarter they might have [won] that game as well,” said Reyes.
Reyes, who is poised to undertake his second coaching role in the World Cup, stated that Dominican Republic’s impressive performance in their preparations, despite the losses, underscores the team’s formidable nature.
“That’s indicative of how strong that team is. A team that has been together for a while and they have a couple of NBA players and one legitimate All-Star in Karl Anthony-Towns,” added Reyes.
When inquired about their specific strategy to contain the three-time NBA All-Star, Reyes declined to comment and humorously remarked, “It’s a secret. With a lot of prayer.”
