FIBA Asia-bound Gilas to face Qatar, Jordan in exhibition games

Smart-Gilas Pilipinas' three-game tune-up matches against Middle East teams Qatar and Jordan should augur well with the Nationals' coming campaign in the FIBA-Asia Championship For Men beginning next week. The Nationals will face Qatar on Thursday and Sunday, then battle Jordan on Saturday as part of their build-up for the Olympic qualifying meet slated in Wuhan, China from September 15 to 25. All exhibition matches are free to the public. "Magandang test ito, magandang tune up. At least makikita natin kung nasaan na ba tayo (The tune up games will be a good test for the team. At least we can see the progress of the team)," according to team skipper Chris Tiu, also a celebrated Kapuso host. Gilas, formed in 2008 with the goal of earning a spot in the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games is fresh from a third-place finish in last month's William Jones Cup basketball tournament in Taipei. Qatar skipped the Jones Cup, but Jordan was among the eight teams that competed where they scored a 76-72 win over Gilas in the preliminary round. "Its good to play against Middle Eastern teams, because they have the size and they are experienced teams," added Tiu. Gilas team manager Frankie Lim supported Tiu's sentiments. "More or less we can gauge how prepared our team is." For coach Rajko Toroman, the series of matches would be a perfect opportunity to see if new additions Jimmy Alapag, Ranidel de Ocampo and Kelly Williams fit into the team's system. "It's almost impossible now for the three of them to play in seven or eight games as what we've talked about before. So, it's just three games, As much as possible, they have to pick the system in those three matches," said the Serbian mentor. — JVP, GMA News