Guiao hopes friendly with Aussies gets ‘Finals trio’ in the groove

Adelaide 36ers coach Joey Wright wanted to send a message by taking up Gilas Pilipinas’ invitation to play in a couple of tuneup games.

“Some of the fans in Australia think that one incident is who Filipino basketball is,” he told a handful of reporters on Wednesday. “And it is not.”

“We wanted to come over here and show them that we can play a game here and be treated well—and we have been, exceptionally. It’s just I didn’t want one incident to be held in their head,” said Wright, referring to the Philippine-Australia brawl that marred a Fiba qualifying game last year.

National coach Yeng Guiao, meanwhile, wants to use the game to help three shoo-ins—June Mar Fajardo, Troy Rosario and Roger Pogoy—seamlessly fit into his system with just over a week before the Fiba World Cup in China tips off.

The three missed a chunk of preparation time because their clubs battled in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals.

The friendlies will also measure the national team’s readiness for the global meet that begins on Aug. 31.

“It’s going to be our basis for our last adjustments,” Guiao said, ahead of the first scrimmage with the Sixers on Friday night at Meralco Gym.

“We’re going to look at it objectively and assess whether we’re done applying our fine-tuning,” he said. “We’re just going to observe things from the games.”

Gilas is expected to have Kiefer Ravena back in the fold in the second and final tuneup with the Aussies this coming Sunday, providing a sneak peek at a full-strength talent pool.

The final lineup is set to be revealed on Monday.