Gilas Pilipinas flies to Doha for must-win Fiba qualifying games

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

The Philippine men’s national basketball team on Saturday left for Doha, Qatar for the sixth and final window of the Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers.

Gilas Pilipinas, led by Jayson Castro, June Mar Fajardo and Andray Blatche, battles Qatar in a must-win on Friday.

The Philippines went 1-3 in its last four games but national team head coach Yeng Guiao is upbeat the team can still reach its main goal.

“We feel very confident that we can make it to the World Cup. Our objective from the beginning is to really try and get to the World Cup,” said Guiao.

Gilas is coming off a 100-82 rout of the Meralco Bolts on Friday in its only tune-up game before plunging back into action in the qualifiers.

Blatche, who is back as the team’s naturalized player, will rejoin the squad in Doha.

Joining the three on the trip are Gabe Norwood, Scottie Thompson, Roger Pogoy, Marcio Lassiter, Poy Erram, Troy Rosario, Raymond Almazan, Mark Barroca and Thirdy Ravena.

The 22-year-old Ravena is the only collegiate player chosen to be part of the pool.