During their build-up for the 2022 FIBA Under-16 Asian Championships, Gilas Boys’ Under-16 team head coach Josh Reyes hoped for one thing — the Philippines to sweep Group C to avoid a quarterfinals clash against Australia.
However, a 72-67 loss to Japan last Tuesday spoiled all of their plans.
And on Friday at 6:30PM, Gilas take on the Crocodiles in a clash that has a World Cup ticket at stake.
The main reason why Gilas is wary of the Crocodiles is because of their 7-foot-1 stud Rocco Zikarski.
Zikarski, 15, is the brightest prospect in Australia today. In the competition, he is averaging 14.7 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in three games played.
Definitely, Zikarski is unstoppable. It’s the reason why Gilas’ Zain Mahmood is toughening up heading into the contest.
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“I think it’ll be a great matchup and a good test of my skills.
“He is very skilled and obviously very tall but I believe if we contain him we can beat Australia,” said the 6-foot-6 Fil-Canadian, who is averaging 12.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in the tournament. “In terms of pre-game prep we are going to be game-planning and studying film on them so we can see how we can best go about taking down this powerhouse.”
But it’s not just Zikarski who Gilas should be wary about.
The defending champions also flaunt depth as the likes of Kye Savage, James O’Donnell, Roman Siulepa, Carlin Briggs, Tristan Devers, and Jacob Murphy have all contributed well for the Crocodiles in the continental competition as well.
For Caelum Harris, their execution must be flawless in order to stun the Crocodiles.
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“We are going to prepare the same way we did it against Kazakhstan We are gonna watch film and play our hearts out on defense,” said Harris, who has averages of 7.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game.
