THE Philippines’ bid in the 2017 William Jones Cup in Taiwan begins this weekend with the country’s cause being carried this time around by Gilas Pilipinas.
TV5 will be bringing all nine games of Gilas live from the Taipei Peace International Basketball Hall from July 15-23 with livestreaming also available over Sports5.ph.
For this year’s edition of the annual international tournament, the Philippines will send its cadet pool backstopped by an import and some late additions.
The 16-man Gilas team, backed by Chooks-to-Go, is composed of Jio Jalalon, Mike Tolomia, Kiefer Ravena, Almond Vosotros, Matthew Wright, Ed Daquioag, Von Pessumal, RR Pogoy, Kobe Paras, Mac Belo, Kevin Ferrer, Carl Bryan Cruz, Raymar Jose, Fonso Gotladera and Christian Standhardinger.
Mike Myers, TNT KaTropa’s standby import in the recent Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup, rounds out the team.
The Philippine national men’s basketball team will go up against Canada, Chinese Taipei A and B, Japan, Korea, Iraq, Lithuania, India and Iran.
Gilas Pilipinas looks to make it back-to-back titles for the Philippines and break a tie for second place with Iran with five Jones Cup titles. The United States has the most championships with 15.
In the 2016 Jones Cup, Mighty Sports carried the Philippine colors with its mix of imports and local pros.
The team was composed of Larry Rodriguez, Jeric Teng, Sunday Salvacion, Leo Avenido, TY Tang, Edrick Ferrer, Jason Brickman, Dewarick Spencer, Zach Graham, Mike Singletary, Troy Gillenwater, Vernon Macklin and Hamady N’diaye.
Mighty Sports finished with an unblemished 8-0 record en route to the title.
Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes said they are looking at the Jones Cup as a “training ground” for the Southeast Asia Games happening next month in Kuala Lumpur as some of their members for the Jones Cup are also seeing action in the SEA Games.
It is also an opportunity for the Gilas players to play in an “elite level of Asian competition,” Mr. Reyes said.
TV5’s coverage of the Gilas campaign in the 2017 Williams Jones Cup begins on Saturday, July 15, against Canada at 3 p.m.
The rest of the coverage is as follows: July 16, Chinese Taipei A at 7 p.m. (TV5); July 17, Chinese Taipei B at 3 p.m. (TV5); July 18, Japan at 1 p.m. (TV5); July 19, Korea at 5 p.m. (Aksyon TV with delayed telecast on TV5 at 9 p.m.); July 20, Iraq at 5 p.m. (TV5); July 21, Lithuania at 3 p.m. (Aksyon TV with delayed telecast on TV5 at 9 p.m.); July 22, India at 1 p.m. (TV5); and July 23, Iran at 5 p.m. (Aksyon TV with delayed telecast on TV5 at 9 p.m.). — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Kiefer Ravena and the rest of the Gilas Pilipinas team begin their campaign in the 2017 William Jones Cup in Taiwan this weekend. TV5 will be broadcasting all their games in the eight-day tournament. — FIBA.COM
