Fiba World Cup: Guiao, Gilas Pilipinas wary of Kazakhs’ 3-point shooting

The Philippines is a heavy favorite to beat Kazakhstan, but that doesn’t mean Gilas Pilipinas coach Yeng Guiao is free from any worries ahead of Friday night’s game.

If there’s one thing Guiao is concerned about coming into the duel is that if Kazakhstan gets hot from the outside.

“We will be in trouble if their three-point shooting is on target. That’s my biggest worry,” Guiao said Wednesday after practice. 

“We must defend their three-point shots because their guards are deadly 3-point shooters and you give them a small window, they can shoot,” he added.

Gilas blew out Kazakhstan by 37 points in their previous meeting three months ago in the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia but repeating over the Kazakhs won’t be easy as the last time and it must start on the defensive end.

“So the challenge for us it that we beat them in the Asian Games because we played suffocating defense. Now, if we won’t be able to do that again, then, we’re probably the ones who are going to suffocate if that happens.”

The Philippines plays Kazakhstan at 7 p.m. at Mall of Asia Arena as the Filipinos begin their campaign in the fifth window of the Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers.