THE Asian Games-bound Gilas Pilipinas will have a joint practice session on Thursday (Sept. 14) with the national women’s team at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Gilas coach Tim Cone said the practice sessions will be opened to the public.
“We will share the court and have interactions between both teams,” Cone said in his social media post on X.
As promised, Cone has finalized the men’s basketball lineup for the Hangzhou Asiad, where he will try to improve his bronze-medal finish in the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games when he handled the Philippine Centennial team also as chief mentor.
And unlike the World Cup team, where national coach Chot Reyes tried hard to hide his team’s practices from the world and Filipino fans, Cone said he prefers to be more accessible.
“The public is free to come and observe. The gates will open at 4 p.m. NO tickets necessary,” Cone added.
Cone’s Gilas team has been practicing since Monday (Sept. 13) with naturalized players Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame leading a line-up of players ready to serve the country again.
Some of them — June Mar Fajardo, Roger Pogoy, Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson — saw action in the recent 2023 FIBA World Cup team that beat China in the classification stage.
Comebacking Calvin Abueva and Terrence Romeo and World Cup pool members Chris Newsome, Moala Tautua, Calvin Oftana, and Jason Perkins are the other members of the Asiad-bound team.
The national team under coach Yeng Guiao placed fifth in the last edition of the Asiad in Jakarta, where NBA star Jordan Clarkson played for the first time as a naturalized player for the Philippines.
The last time the Philippines won gold in the Asian Games was in 1962 in Jakarta with a team composed of Hall of Famer Carlos “Caloy” Loyzaga, Narciso Bernado, Roehl Nadurata, Kurt Bachmann, and Eddie Pacheco.
The Philippines opens its campaign against Bahrain on Sept. 26 and takes on Thailand on Sept. 28, before facing Jordan on Sept. 30 in the Group stage of the men’s basketball competition at the Hangzhou Olympic Stadium.