FILE – Mall of Asia Arena.
MANILA, Philippines—St. Benilde and La Salle, who were among the teams who participated in Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas’ test games, lauded the setup at Mall of Asia Arena which is one of the main venues for the country’s hosting of the 2023 Fiba World Cup.
College of St. Benilde coach Charles Tiu explained why the current test for the World Cup is a “success,” citing the comfortability of the players with their entrances at the venue.
“I like it. First of all, I like what they did with the players’ entrance, it goes straight to the lockers and that’s a great idea. The way they set up everything is pretty good, I like the drones, the videos, it seems pretty solid, they’re starting to get prepared,” said Tiu.
WATCH: Charles Tiu after College of St. Benilde’s win over La Salle in SBP’s Invitational Games for the Fiba World Cup.
Come August, this is how the setup will be for the post-game interviews. | @MeloFuertesINQ pic.twitter.com/Nsd9yb5cjn
— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) June 28, 2023
The Blazers beat La Salle in the first game of the SBP Invitational Games at MOA Arena, a one-day event that was geared at simulating conditions at the Fiba World Cup.
Will Gozum, who had his first official game since injuring his left hand a few months ago, also commended the simulation games en route to the biggest basketball event of the year.
“It’s beautiful. They really planned this all well and I hope whatever they do next will have good results for the World Cup,” said the NCAA Season 98 MVP.
Migs Oczon made the most out of the exhibition game by top scoring with 29 points built on an efficient 55.6 percent field goal shooting clip.
“I just went out and played. I didn’t even think to score that much but I got confident with myself and I just focused on my mechanics with shooting the ball while trying to win the game,” Oczon said.
“I know coach Charles trusts me to take those shots, he knows I take it and maybe I earned his trust (already).”
The Green Archers got close to within six in the fourth quarter, 67-61, before the Blazers went on a 10-2 game deciding run capped off by back-to-back triples from Oczon.
Miggy Corteza and Zenrick Jarque registered 17 points each for Benilde in the victory.
La Salle, which played without their core after winning the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup, was Elaijah Gollena with 19 markers. Vhoris Marasigan also tallied 16 in a losing effort.
Green Archer Ben Philips kept, meanwhile, satisfied him was the time allotment of the games. In the simulation, the La Salle-Benilde game started at 4:45 and ended well before 6:30 pm. The second game between Mapua Cardinals and the National University Bulldogs will take place at 8:45.
“The setup here is nice. Lots of time to warm up, all the extra stuff was fantastic, the half time shows, it really felt like an NBA game. It was really nice to be a part of it,” told Philips.
“When more fans come it’ll be a bit more lively because here it’s kind of quiet but I saw some of the pre-game, they were throwing towels and t-shirts, the music was lively and the mascot was nice,” added the 32nd Southeast Asian Games medalist.