FILE – Joshua Munzon. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 head coach Ronnie Magsanoc was pleased with his team’s commitment during its preparation for the coming Olympic Qualifiers.
Joshua Munzon, CJ Perez, Leonard Santillan, Moala Tautuaa, and Karl Dehesa had twice-a-day practices in their training bubble at Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna to make up for lost time after Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces were put under enhanced community quarantine.
“With their commitment and sacrifice, I can say that the players are really all-in,” said Magsanoc in a statement. “The SBP did its part to provide us with everything we needed including a safe training environment in the bubble and the team did its best to maximize the great opportunity to train and be together.”
The Philippines is grouped with Slovenia, France, Qatar, and the Dominican Republic in Pool C of the tournament that will be played in Graz, Austria from May 26 to 30.
Magsanoc admitted that the early practices were difficult for the players as they were not in top condition due to the long layoff.
“They’ve been off the court for the past six weeks because of the community quarantine so we had to be patient until they got their legs underneath them but so far, we like what we see and we’ll take what we can get. The launchpad that this team will have is the effort and commitment they will show not just in the training bubble but hopefully until our next workouts,” said Magsanoc.
The team took a momentary break from training on Saturday to process the necessary travel documents to Austria but will be back in Laguna after a few days.
Alvin Pasaol, who is still in the process of completing health and safety protocols, is expected to join the team once it restarts training.
“Right now there has been an agreement with the roster that we’ll continue our Zoom workouts but we also instructed them to find a playing court where they could practice individually,” said Magsanoc.
“What’s important is to stay in shape and be ready for the elite competition come the OQT. All in all, I salute these gallant gentlemen for everything that they have done. I’m learning from them and I’m hoping I also impart some knowledge to them. So far, I like what I see. I’m doing my best and they’re doing their best and that’s more than good enough for me.”