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Gilas toughens up for Asiad with heavy 80-game slate


After a strong third place finish in a tough tournament in Dubai, the Smart Gilas Pilipinas team will hardly have time to relax as the Pinoy cagers will embark on an array of training and tournaments abroad prior to their Asian Games campaign in Guangzhou, China in November.

According to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) executive director Noli Eala, the plan is to expose Gilas to as many as 80 games to toughen the Nationals up for the Asiad and in the long run, the Olympic-qualifying Fiba Asia tournament next year. “We have lined up 80 games for this team this year leading up to the Asian Games. This is by far more than what the PBA teams play and it will help the team get better and better," Eala said. He said Gilas will undergo training and exposure in Australia, US, Canada and Serbia in between major international competitions like the Fiba Asia Champions Cup, Jones Cup and Fiba Asia Stankovic Cup. Tuneup games against professional teams in Australia’s National Basketball League will keep Gilas busy this month while a foray in Belgrade will be up in April, and a stint in the US and Canada and participation in the Fiba Asia Champions Cup in Qatar will occupy its time in May. In June, the squad will return to the Philippines but will still figure in a pocket tournament with Iran, New Zealand and possibly Japan or Korea. The next month will see the Nationals competing in the Jones Cup and Stankovic Cup. By October, the Gilas cagers will likely go back to the US to play against US NCAA teams before they represent the country in the Guangzhou Asiad on Nov. 12-27. Such heavy, yearlong schedule is intended to prepare the team for its long-term mission to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics. And with Gilas’ stellar showing in their recent Middle East sortie, its Serbian coach Rajko Toroman is upbeat about his wards’ ability to deliver the goods. “The Philippines finished fifth place in the Champions Cup in Jakarta under coach Chot Reyes. This team [Gilas] finished third in Dubai and in the [coming] Asian Games we will be in the Finals. In the 2011 Olympic-qualifying tournament we can be champion. So we are on the right track," said Toroman. - GMANews.TV
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