Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes could not help but feel saddened by the situation forced upon to Korea.
Despite plugging players left and right just for a chance to compete in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers’ Quezon City window, the Korea Basketball Association was still forced to withdraw from the window.
And this was all because of the COVID-19 outbreak the country has been experiencing over the past few weeks.
Reyes admitted that Korea’s decision to withdraw also affected Gilas. After all, 50-percent of the Philippines’ preps was focused on the Koreans as they were set to face each other on February 24 and 28.
“Obviously, it throws a monkey wrench in our preparations because we have been preparing for Korea for the past week.”
Still, Gilas have no other choice but to move on.
Now, Gilas will have two days to prepare for India on Friday. The Philippines then faces the New Zealand Tall Blacks who on Sunday.
“Having said that, we would like to think that we built this team on versatility,” he said about the 15-man pool inside the Big Dome bubble. “Agility was one of the very first things we talked about in our first practice and how we really need to prepare for whatever comes.
“What we learned in the environment we are playing now is that we can never know what to expect. This is one such thing. The best thing we can do is be ready and the thing we can focus on is our health.”
Inside Novotel are TNT players Roger Pogoy, Troy Rosario, Poy Erram, Kelly Williams, Kib Montalbo, and Gab Banal.
Also in are Robert Bolick of Northport, San-En’s Thirdy Ravena, Toyama’s Dwight Ramos, free agent Juan Gomez de Liano, Overtime Elite’s Lebron Lopez, Angelo Kouame of Ateneo, and Gilas draftees William Navarro of Northport, Tzaddy Rangel of NLEX, and Jaydee Tungcab of TNT.
Reyes stressed that in these unpredictable times, what he preaches to the team is to control what can be controlled.
“We are very happy that our RT-PCR results came out negative. That’s my message to the players, focus on what we can control,” he stressed.
“Right now, that’s our preparation — our health and to stay focused mentally and be emotionally ready for whatever the schedule is.”
