Heavy training, Italy tourney up for nat’l five

RANIDEL De Ocampo (33) and his Gilas teammates are in for a tougher grind ahead. TRISTAN TAMAYO/INQUIRER.NET

GILAS Pilipinas will have two days of hard practice before the Filipinos open their campaign in a pocket tournament in Bologna, Italy, against the Italians on Friday (Saturday) in Manila.

The Filipinos will play two straight games to wind up their back-breaking European training for the Manila Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which gets off the ground on July 5 at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

Gilas plays the Italians before colliding with either Canada or Fiba Asia tormentor China the following day.

Should the Filipinos upset the hosts at Land Rover Arena, they will advance opposite the winner of the Canada-China match. A loss will pit Gilas against the loser of the match between the Canadians and the Chinese.

Gilas, which flew out on June 10 and had a nine-day camp in Kapernisi in Greece, flies back home on Monday and will touch down on Tuesday.

National coach Tab Baldwin, incidentally, will name the final lineup tomorrow at around 6 p.m. and will beam his announcement through TV5, basketball godfather Manny V. Pangilinan’s television outfit.

Gilas lost its first game outside the Philippines recently, a 68-103 decision to Turkey, which the Filipinos will again clash with for their final tune-up match on July 1 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.