Gilas Pilipinas back in Manila, gets down to work for Qatar match

Gilas Pilipinas members wait for their luggage upon arrival in Manila Saturday. SBP PHOTO

The Philippine national men’s national basketball team arrived in the country Saturday morning following a 12-hour delay that bumped their arrival by a day.

Gilas Pilipinas was originally scheduled to land in Manila Friday evening but typhoon “Ompong” forced the Nationals to endure a 12-hour layover at Dubai International Airport.

According to the PBA website, the Filipinos had a game-viewing Saturday afternoon to prepare for their closed-door game against Qatar on Monday at 7:30pm at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Unable to practice Saturday, Gilas Pilipinas will return to the floor for one more training session on Sunday before game day. Head coach Yeng Guiao is also expected to name his Final 12 for the game that day.

The Filipinos are coming off an 81-73 loss to the Iranians in Tehran Thursday.

The Qataris, meanwhile, flew in Friday night. They are also fresh from a 95-43 setback to Australia at home.

Gilas holds the third seed in Group F with a 4-3 record while Qatar is at the bottom with a 2-5 card.