Yeng Guiao ‘confident, happy’ with Gilas roster ahead of final Fiba qualifying window

MANILA, Philippines—Gilas Pilipinas are on a tough bind in the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers with the team sitting at the fourth place of Group F and needing to win their last two games.

Head coach Yeng Guiao also has the tough task of leading the national team into the enemy territories of Qatar and Kazakhstan for their last games but the fiery head coach is unconcerned of the difficult order.

“I’m confident and I’m happy with this group of guys,” said Guiao after Gilas’ 100-82 win over Meralco in a tune-up game Friday before their trip.

Guiao added that he’s proud of what naturalized center Andray Blatche had done to be in top physical shape for the coming window.

“They’ve shown their commitment, they’ve shown their abilities, and I’m happy with the development with Andray Blatche. He came in ready and he was in a lot better shape than when he first came in for the previous windows. So that’s the best sign.”

Blatche managed to get familiarized with Guiao’s system early February when he arrived in the Philippines to make his intentions known that he would play with Gilas in the team’s final two games of the qualifiers.

The Philippines holds a 5-5 record and will have to overtake Lebanon, which holds a 6-4 card in the fourth seed of Group E, to get the final Asian slot for the 2019 Fiba Basketball World Cup in China.

Blatche, though, is back in the Chinese Basketball League but will rejoin the team in Doha for the game against the Qataris on Feb. 21.

“I didn’t see any problems when he was here on or off the court, he’s somebody who understands the game really well and who loves his teammates and that’s a really good foundation to build from.”

Blatche will play for Guiao for the first time in his career after the latter replaced former Gilas head coach Chot Reyes in September of 2018.