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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Thursday, February 22, 2018
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MANILA – Undersized Gilas Pilipinas will lean on its desire to overcome odds when it faces the towering Australia in the 2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifier today at the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne.
Game time is 4 p.m. (7 p.m. in Melbourne). Both the Philippine team and the Aussies are staking their immaculate 2-0 record.
Gilas head coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes said that, even if his team lacked height compared to the Aussies, he expects his players to bank on their fighting spirit to score an upset.
“We don’t lack in effort and in commitment. We lack the time, we lack in preparation, but our heart is still there,” said Reyes. “I expect my players to go all out.”
Chosen to suit up for the game are Andray Blatche, June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Kevin Alas, Abu Tratter, Gabe Norwood, Kiefer Ravena, RR Pogoy, Matthew Wright, Allein Maliksi, Calvin Abueva, and Carl Bryan Cruz.
For his part, Australia head coach Andrej Lemanis said they will not take the Filipinos lightly, knowing the latter’s ability to score upsets against tougher opponents.
“The unique challenges that the Philippines presents have definitely been part of the discussion,” said Lemanis. “Our chosen players will enable us to negate some of their individual and team strengths as well, causing a few challenging match-ups for them.”
Australia is expected to be bannered by Matt Hodgson (6’11”), Angus Brandt (6’10”), Daniel Kickert (6’10”), Cameron Gliddon (6’6″), Mitch Creek (6’5″), and Jason Cadee (6’1″)./PN
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