Korean, Chinese teams to test Smart RP five

MANILA, Philippines—To boost its buildup for the Asian Games, the Smart Gilas national five will play a series of tuneup games starting Tuesday against club teams from Korea and China. Smart Gilas manager Frankie Lim announced Sunday that the RP five will face the Seoul SK Knights tomorrow and Sept. 12 at the Ronac Gym in San Juan.

The Nationals then travel to Guangdong on Sept. 13 for another series of exhbition games against clubs from the Chinese Basketball Association. “September and October are crucial months for the RP team to get ready for the Asian Games,” said Lim. “We’ll probably play four to five games against foreign teams as part of our preparation.” The SK Knights, back-to-back Korean Basketball League champions in 1999 and 2000, had played several goodwill games in the Philippines in the past decade, mostly against PBA teams. RP coach Rajko Toroman said they would finalize the RP lineup for the 16th Asiad, scheduled Nov. 12 to 27 in Guangzhou, by the end of the month. The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas has submitted a provisional lineup of the team’s core, plus several PBA stars. The 15-man lineup forwarded to the Philippine Olympic Committee included PBA mainstays Asi Taulava, Kelly Williams, Ryan Reyes and Ranidel De Ocampo. Reigning PBA MVP James Yap, Sonny Thoss and Arwind Santos were also strongly being considered. Despite the possible entry of more PBA players, Lim said they would still keep the Smart Gilas core of amateur standouts who were handpicked for the program in late 2008.