Even with little preparation, expectations will be high for the Philippines Men’s National Basketball Team set to play in the 2018 Asian Games.
Philippine Olympic Committee president Ricky Vargas said that they expect the Gilas team to finish better than seventh place in the quadrennial meet hosted by Indonesia this August.
Seventh place was the only accomplishment by Gilas Pilipinas back in the 2014 Asian Games, a finish that many considered underwhelming given that they had been fresh from a stint in the FIBA World Cup in Spain.
“The POC expectation is to perform better than how they performed in the last Asian Games in Korea. So that is what we want to achieve,” said Vargas Sunday, in the official announcement of the Philippines’ return to Asiad.
“In the last Asian Games the national[s] placed seventh. So I mentioned to Coach Yeng [Guiao] that if we perform better than that, that would be excellent considering the time he had to spend for the team.”
Time constraints are surely an issue, but the team that will be sent in Indonesia will surely still be a competitive unit.
Coached Yeng Guiao, the team will be led by six Elasto Painters in Beau Belga, Raymond Almazan, Gabe Norwood, Maverick Ahanmisi, Chris Tiu, and James Yap.
They will also have ample help from seasoned cagers Stanley Pringle, Poy Erram, Don Trollano, Asi Taulava, Christian Standhardinger, and Paul Lee, along with the rising stars of the Gilas Cadets in Kobe Paras and Ricci Rivero.
“I think with this kind of line-up, we were able to bring in more players that could help the team,” said Vargas. “We’ll probably be able to perform better, sixth, fifth, fourth… Maybe a long shot, getting to the medal round.
“We would be very happy, from the POC standpoint, if we perform better than seventh.”
The Philippines has won four gold, a silver, and two bronzes in the continental meet. The last time the country won gold was back in 1962.
