Japan eyes payback vs Gilas

Gilas Pilipinas pool. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/ Smart Sports

Japan still has to make two final cuts for its game against Gilas Pilipinas on Friday in the first round of the Fiba Asia World Cup Qualifying series as coach Julio Lamas tries to get payback against the Filipinos.

Star center Joji Takeuchi has practically promised a victory for the Japanese in the match set at Komazawa Olympic Park General Sports Ground Stadium in Tokyo, with their last two losses to the Filipinos still fresh in his mind.

“We will surely get them back this time,” the 6-foot-10 Takeuchi told Fiba.com after recounting two losses to Gilas in the 2015 Fiba Asia Championship.

Like the Philippines, Japan will unveil its final 12 on the eve of the contest.

Gilas, meanwhile, took a 15-man pool to Japan on Tuesday morning, and conspicuously absent was leading scorer Terrence Romeo, the PBA superstar guard who is nursing a leg injury.

Team PH coaching staff led by Chot Reyes told the Inquirer on Monday that they will also wait for the veritable last minute, or during the team managers’ meeting on Thursday, to reveal their final roster.

Ira Brown is Japan’s naturalized player and will surely make the roster, posing as a defensive matchup problem for Reyes and the Filipinos because of his size and agility.

With Romeo absent, Reyes would most likely opt for Kiefer Ravena to share the point guard chores with Jayson Castro. Kevin Alas is the other point in the pool and if Reyes slots him in, that could mean time in the wings for Castro.

Tickets for the Friday game have been sold out weeks before, guaranteeing that the intrepid Filipinos will be playing on hostile ground, though their impressive record against the Japanese recently certainly makes them the favorites.

“The game against the Filipinos, our very first home game, will be very important in setting the tone [for us] for the rest of the qualifiers,” Lamas told Fiba.com. “Knowing that tickets were sold out quickly, I can see a lot of people are paying attention to our game.”