MANILA Philippines–Gilas Pilipinas Women’s 3×3 is set to begin its campaign in the 30th Southeast Asian Games on Sunday.
The Filipino ballers open with the 3×3 competition, the basketball first match for this hoops-crazed country, at FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Coach Pat Aquino is still leaving nothing to chance, opting to go for size and familiarity for his squad that will be bannered by World Cup veterans Afril Bernardino Janine Pontejos, and Jack Animam.
“When we played internationally, like in the Asia Cup, I saw the need for a bigger man,” he told the Inquirer on Friday shortly after team practice at MOA Arena.
“The addition of Clare Castro, I think it [gave] me some leverage on guarding the bigs of other countries.”
The Philippines takes on Myanmar at 10:40 a.m., then Malaysia at 12:40 p.m., before going against Indonesia at 2:20 p.m. in the inaugural tournament which will feature six competing nations.
Aquino said the move to bring in Castro, a 6-foot-5 center from Far Eastern University, allows Animam to rest, enabling the team to fully utilize the latter’s effectivity from both in and out.
Castro comes in as a replacement for Gemma Miranda, who was also part of the sensational crew which drew nods and applause at the global meet in 2018 in Bulacan.
“Not taking away what Gemma has done. She’s a fighter and a slasher. But I think the move of getting a big man makes us better.
The Indonesians, ranked 25th in FIBA’s global rankings, appears to be the biggest threat for the hometown bets who are at 21st.
Top four teams of the preliminary round advance to the Final Four set the next day.
Meanwhile, the men’s team, led by Philippine Basketball Association Rookie of the Year favorite CJ Perez, will be taking its cues from the women’s team, taking the stage every after the distaff matches.
Perez will be joined by Chris Newsome, Mo Tautuaa and Jason Perkins in the team that will be coached by Ronnie Magsanoc.