Hastily-formed Gilas braces for well-motivated S. Korean squad
A HASTILY-FORMED Gilas Pilipinas braces for an all-out war against a well-motivated South Korean squad that’s out for Filipino blood in the coming International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers in Quezon City.
“Not only are they (Koreans) coming for revenge, they’re also coming for qualification and survival to get to the World Cup,” Gilas coach Chot Reyes said during Tuesday’s online PSA Forum.
The Philippines and South Korea mix it up in the Group A opening night on Feb. 24 and in the culminating match on Feb. 28 as highlights of the first window to be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. They are also slated to face New Zealand and India in between.
The Pinoy and Korean dribblers renew their rivalry eight months after a youth-laden Gilas crew under Tab Baldwin swept their two games in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in Clark.
“It is time for revenge,” Korea’s Kim Sun-Hyung said on the FIBA website. “I’m ready and confident about beating them in the two games.”
“I think we’re going to see a very different Korean team, we’ll see a lot of veterans in this team, ” noted Mr. Reyes.
It will be a different Gilas squad, too, as Mr. Reyes is working with about half of that winning crew in Clark in combination with some of his TnT Tropang Giga stalwarts.
“For now, our focus is on our team. The time will come when our focus is going to shift fully to Korea. And figure out what kind of team can match up well not only against South Korea but also New Zealand and India,” said Mr. Reyes.
The returning Gilas mentor said he will likely borrow a page from the playbook his predecessor Mr. Baldwin used with success last June 2021 against Korea.
“We’re going to take a lot from the game plan of coach Tab…” said Mr. Reyes. “But as I said, there’s a lot of different players sa team so we just have to be prepared.”
Mr. Reyes himself knew what it takes to beat Korea. He previously steered Gilas to a famous 86-79 triumph before a roaring home crowd in the semifinals of the 2013 FIBA Asia Cup at the MOA Arena that led to a stint in the 2014 WC.
“Our mantra’s always to be the hardest-working, best-conditioned team,” said the veteran mentor, who popularized the Gilas battlecry “Laban Pilipinas, Puso.” — Olmin Leyba
