Gilas Pilipinas wraps up its closing FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 tune-up series on Monday, August 21, as it takes on world No. 31 Mexico at 8 p.m. at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The friendly with the FIBA Americas qualifier is scheduled 24 hours after the Philippine Team shall have tested its mettle against world class competition in FIBA European qualifier Montenegro, ranked 18th in the world.
The game was ongoing at press time.
All three tune-up games were arranged to start at 8 p.m. to simulate Gilas Pilipinas’ Group Phase first round matches, according to head coach Chot Reyes last Friday, moments before the Nationals overpowered FIBA Africa qualifier Ivory Coast, 85-62, behind NBA superstar Jordan Clarkson and their Triple Towers June Mar Fajardo, Kai Sotto, and AJ Edu.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 kicks off on August 25 at the 55,000-seater Philippine Arena, with Italy facing Angola at 4 p.m. and Gilas Pilipinas clashing with the Dominican Republic at 8.
Angola is up next for the Philippines on August 27, and Italy on August 29, both at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, with a ticket to the second round of the Group Phase virtually assured if the Nationals go 2 out of 3, at least.
Reyes said team chemistry and familiarity with each other continue to hold the key for Gilas heading to the event proper, with its 18 errors against Ivory Coast presenting “some kinks” that need to be worked on.
Clarkson alone committed four, off bullet passes his teammates didn’t see coming.
“Ngayon lang naglaro yung tatlo, di ba?” said Reyes, referring to Clarkson, Sotto and Scottie Thompson, who put up some good numbers against the Ivorians despite suffering a recent hand fracture.
Sharing Reyes’ sentiments was Serbian coach Rajko Toroman, who started the Gilas Pilipinas program years ago.
“First game with Jordan Clarkson. They need the time to fix everything, to make the chemistry,” said Toroman, who attended the Ivory Coast tuneup. “But, you know Clarkson can do a lot, you can see that he dominated the play here. Just need to make the chemistry between all the players.”
Toroman, who is friends with Ivory Coast’s Slovenian head coach Dejan Prokic, believes this Gilas roster holds the distinction of being the strongest Philippine team ever assembled.
“They have size, everything, even the guys who have international exposure like Kiefer Ravena and Dwight Ramos,” he said. “I think that’s the strongest team in the history of Philippine basketball.”
Depending on the outcome of the tune-up against Montenegro, which is backstopped by 6-foot-9 Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Vucevic, Gilas Pilipinas will probably have a measure of understanding on how to deal with Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl Anthony-Towns and the Dominican Republic, ranked 23rd in the world, on Friday, and Simone Fontecchio — Clarkson’s Utah Jazz teammate — and Italy, 10th in the FIBA rankings, on August 29.
Mexico, which, like the Philippines, qualified to the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, has no known NBA players nor 7-foot-behemoths. But, it boasts of explosive playmakers, overall speed, and deadly shooting threats from anywhere that accounted for a couple of stunning upsets over the United States in the last two years.
Holdovers from 2021 like Paul Stoll, Pako Cruz, Orlando Mendez, and Gabriel Giron will be the main offensive cogs, while Daniel Amigo and Joshua Ibarra will man the middle.
Thirdy Ravena, Ray Parks and Calvin Oftana sat out the Ivory Coast game and could get some minutes against Mexico as the deadline hour to decide on the Final 12 lineup approaches with just five days to go before Opening Day.