Tall order for Gilas as it eyes top spot in ‘group of death’

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

In coach Chot Reyes’ eyes, Gilas Pilipinas has been slotted in the so-called “Group of Death” in the 2017 Fiba Asia Cup.

Placed in Group B together with defending champion China and Middle Eastern contenders in Qatar and Iraq, the outspoken mentor knows Philippines has its work cut out for it.

“(Our group is) very tough. It might be the biggest group, the tallest group,” he said.

Seeking to defend its gold medal from 2015, China is still the favorites in the tourney, with studs like Guo Ailun and Zhou Qi expected to lead the team.

Qatar, meanwhile, is parading a youthful team under coach Qusai Hatem which still packs a lot of punch.

Though ranked 94th in the world, Iraq is poised to parade a towering roster bannered by naturalized player Demario Mayfield.

Those facts aren’t lost on Reyes, and that’s why he’s taking a deliberate approach in the Philippines’ preparation for the tournament against the taller foes.

“We all know the size of Iraq because we saw it in the Jones Cup. We all know how big Qatar is and of course, that’s China. The good thing is they all play one way. We’re not gonna change up from playing a Korea to a China, so they’re all going to be big teams and hopefully, we can find a way to beat those teams,” he said.

It’s a tall order for Gilas as it has to finish on top in the group stages to advance and that means toppling China in the first day of the competitions.

“The key is to finish first in our group in the first round. And that means we have to beat China in the first day,” he said.

“We have our own sets of problems and we’re not even complete. It’s gonna be really difficult, but we’re going to try our best.”

Gilas Pilipinas leaves for Beirut, Lebanon on August 6.