MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas quickly got back to work after a much-deserved breather following a successful campaign in the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers in Clark, Pampanga.
Practice resumed Tuesday as Gilas prepares for its tune-up game against China on Wednesday in Clark.
Forward Carl Tamayo, who was one of the biggest revelations for Gilas in Clark, also put the time in during training despite nursing a left ankle injury.
SJ Belangel looks on as coach Tab Baldwin re-creates his game winning three against Korea.#ParaSaBayan #Puso pic.twitter.com/TsWm4VrZop
— SBP (@officialSBPinc) June 22, 2021
The 6-foot-7 Tamayo, the University of the Philippines recruit, suffered a Grade 1 ankle sprain in Gilas’ blowout win over Indonesia. He missed the team’s 82-77 win over South Korea on Sunday.
The Philippines is coming off an undefeated run in the qualifiers where it completed a 6-0 sweep after winning all of its three games in the final window in Clark.
Gilas, though, still has a lot of work to do with the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia coming later this month.
The Philippine team, which leaves for Serbia on Thursday, plays the host on June 30 before taking on the Dominican Republic on July 1.