Basketball history suggests not to count out the Philippines ahead of another World Cup stint.
The country faces a tall order in the Under-17 tilt in Argentina, but Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes reminded everyone of the last time the Philippines competed in a Basketball World Cup.
“Croatia was plus-20 and Argentina was plus-30 and we took both of those teams to the last possession,” said Reyes.
Reyes steered Gilas to breakthrough campaign in the 2014 World Cup in Spain and he thinks the Philippine youth team can do the same two months from now.
“You’ll never know. The fact is the team is there. And every time they’re there, they will always have a chance to win,” Reyes said.
Batang Gilas, which is ranked 31st, is slotted in Group D together with No. 7 Argentina, No. 8 Croatia and No. 9 France.
“Honestly, we haven’t looked at the teams yet. But just the names of those countries alone, they’re very tough,” said Batang Gilas assistant coach Josh Reyes.
“But I believe with the proper preparation, especially in this age group level, I think we can really compete and the aim is to surprise people and see how far we can go. The first goal is to get into the next round.”
With the 7-foot-1 Kai Sotto, who led the team’s fourth-place finish in the Fiba U-16 Asian Championship in Foshan, China, Reyes said size is not that of a concern for the Philippines unlike before.
What’s crucial, however, is having ample time to prepare.
“It’s a good test and barometer on where we stand but really, we believe that with enough preparations and proper preparations we can compete with these teams,” said the younger Reyes, who serves as deputy to head coach Mike Oliver. “As you can see, we are not the small team anymore. We know, physically, we can hang with these guys.”
“We have to believe that we can compete. We’re not preparing to go on vacation, we’re preparing to compete.”