Gilas women enter final stretch of readying for Fiba Asia Cup; men’s squad holes up in Laguna

Jack Danielle Animam (right) and the Filipino women are taking a more cerebral approach to getting ready while stepping out of their comfort zones. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Gilas Pilipinas Women left for Australia on Saturday night hoping that the three weeks have prepared Nationals for the tough assignment that awaits them in the Fiba (International Basketball Federation) Women’s Asia Cup in Sydney.

Jack Danielle Animam, the program’s cornerstone, feels that the squad has become more cerebral now compared to how it was when it began its buildup last May 22.

“Now there’s a lot of reading the situation. [We understand] that being quick won’t cut it, so we need to have a counter for each situation. And now, I feel like we’re getting out of our comfort zones, too,” she told the Inquirer just before the delegation’s flight to Melbourne.

There, Gilas will be playing around three more friendlies while getting Duke playmaker Vanessa de Jesus up to speed.

Coach Pat Aquino knows that going to be a challenge hitting two birds with one stone over the course of a week, but he is optimistic that De Jesus’ smarts will grease such a process.

“I know it’s going to be hard but I feel like she’s going to manage,” he told the Inquirer in a separate interview. “I’m just happy it’s finally happening. We have someone coming from a program like Duke, so it should be great [for us].

“She looks tough in the videos I’ve seen, but more importantly, I feel she’s really smart. She approaches the game in a clever manner and she’s precise and deliberate with her movements, too,” he went on.

Gilas will have its work cut out for itself in the continental showcase that will send four teams to Olympic Qualifying Tournaments for the Paris Olympic Games.

Men at Inspire

The Philippines battles the towering hosts on June 26, 5:30 p.m. (Manila time), then takes on the Japanese—six-time champions of the showcase on Tuesday, before rounding out its Group B campaign against the Taiwanese on Wednesday.

“Our opponents are going to be more physical. Height’s going to be a key, of course,” Aquino said. “I told the ladies that they are also playing before a hostile crowd so we got to show what we’re made of.”

“We’ve been in Division 1 here since 2015. We need to tell the message that we belong here,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Gilas men’s team has moved to another leg of its preparations for the Fiba World Cup, holing up at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna on Saturday.

Jamie Malonzo is also back in town and has joined the buildup in Calamba, where national coach Chot Reyes and his brain trust are hoping to further strengthen the pool’s camaraderie while “assimilating” relative newcomers in AJ Edu and Rhenz Abando.

More names from the 21-man talent pool are expected to join the preps at Inspire which will prime Gilas for its tour in Europe where it is scheduled to play the national teams of Estonia, Latvia and Finland, along with some pro clubs from Lithuania.