Jimmy Alapag. FILE PHOTO
AFTER 40 years of absence, Gilas Pilipinas’ returns to the Fiba World Cup in Spain.
Going against the best of the world will be no walk in the park, and the Filipinos know what’s at stake when they step on the parquet floor from Aug. 30 to Sept. 4.
Carrying our country’s pride and dreams, Gilas Pilipinas is expected to fight tooth-and-nail in Spain.
Here are five things to watch out for in Gilas’ World Cup campaign:
The ‘return’
Gilas Pilipinas makes its comeback to the world stage official when it debuts against European superpower Croatia, which is also out to send a statement that it is a force to be reckoned with.
Brooklyn Nets-bound forward Bojan Bogdanovic and Indiana’s new shooter Damjan Rudez will be there for the Croats, and many scouts are salivating over 20-year-old Dario Saric. The 6-foot-10 Saric was selected by Philadelphia at 12th in the last NBA Draft, but will be suiting up for Turkey with Anadolu Efes for the next two years.
The big question: Can Gilas compete against the taller Croatian squad and drill in daggers from downtown?
David vs Goliath
Giannis Antetokounmpo, known as “The Greek Freak” is 6-foot-10 and growing. Occasionally he will decide to play the point for Greece. Jimmy Alapag, one of Gilas Pilipinas’ point guards is 5-foot-10. Get the picture?
The two just might face each other when Gilas clashes with the fifth-ranked Greeks on Aug. 31 (Sept. 1, Manila time).
Also expected to cause headaches for coach Chot Reyes will be veteran center Ioannis Bourousis, Memphis guard Nick Calathes, and tireless forward Kostas Papanikolaou.
Power forward faceoff
Gilas bruiser Marc Pingris said before that he was looking forward to going up against Argentina’s Luis Scola on the court. He’ll get the chance on Sept. 1, when the national team faces the third-ranked team in the world.
But it looks like the Filipinos will be clearly outmatched against powerhouse Argentines.
Even without Manu Ginobili, Argentina still packs a lot of punch with Scola, Pablo Prigioni, and Andres Nocioni still on its fray.
Kraken takes on Balkman
Shifty guards JJ Barea and Carlos Arroyo will be bannering the Puerto Rico squad which won silver in last year’s Fiba Americas. Puerto Rico’s backcourt tandem will make a great matchup with our own guards in the World Cup.
But sights will be set on June Mar Fajardo, as the 2014 PBA MVP could end up guarding Renaldo Balkman, who is best remembered for choking Arwind Santos. Balkman was once an import for Petron Blaze (now San Miguel Beer), where he was teammates with Santos and Fajardo.
Game plan for Gilas? Frustrate Balkman in the hopes that he’ll lose his cool again.
Just kidding. Or not.
Best chance
This is a must-watch. Mark the date: Sept. 4. Ask your boss for a day-off or file a sick leave on this very day. If you don’t, you might miss our country’s best chance of winning in the World Cup.
Senegal, ranked 41st in the world, will be leaning on Minnesota Timberwolves center Gorgui Dieng, who was a member of last season’s All-NBA Rookie Second Team, and D-Leaguer Hamady N’Diaye.
Team consultant Natxo Lezcano knows this team, and it will be a big plus if Gilas can utilize Lezcano’s insights against Senegal.