After proving that they are the princes of Southeast Asian Basketball and part of Asian Basketball’s elite, the under-17 squad of Batang Gilas Pilipinas will enter their final stage on June 29.
The world’s best under-17 talent will converge in Argentina for the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup.
Grouped with the Philippines during the pool stages are the hosts and European powerhouses Croatia and France. And the coaching staff of the team headed by Mike Oliver and Josh Reyes have done their homework for this.
“France yung pinakamalakas sa grupo, second I think yung Croatia then Argentina,” Oliver shared during the Chooks-to-Go-hosted sendoff for Batang Gilas, Monday evening.
“If you notice there’s no Spain, no Greece, and no Lithuania because during the European Championships, France and Croatia beat them,” added Reyes. “We’re grouped with the toughest team out there. The number one player of Europe right now is playing for France, Killian Hayes, he’s a top NBA prospect.”
Facing future NBA talents excites the young squad – but they are not intimidated one bit.
Spitfire guard RC Calimag – who knocked down the game-winner that punched in the Philippines’ ticket to the world stage during the team’s 72-70 win over Japan – believes that they can match up against the world’s best and finest.
“Exciting kasi future, makikita namin sila sa NBA, pero ngayon pare-pareho lang namin kaming player so bakit kami matatakot sa kanila ‘di ba?,” said the 17-year-old guard, recently transferred to La Salle Green Hills, who averaged 11.3 points during the Under-16 Asian Championship.
“Wala naman dapat ikatakot kasi player din kami.”
