2 Kuwait tuneup games for Gilas five

MANILA—The Smart Gilas national quintet will play a pair of tuneup games against Kuwait prior to the Guangzhou Asian Games to shake off the rust caused by a month-long layoff from serious competition.      RP coach Rajko Toroman said the Kuwait national squad is scheduled to arrive in Manila on Nov. 4 to test Smart Gilas and its three reinforcements from the PBA for the first time.
     Toroman said PBA stars Asi Taulava, Kelly Williams and Sol Mercado have been blending perfectly with the RP five in practice. 
     “We need these tuneup games to measure the progress of the team with the PBA players,” said Toroman. “It will show the elements of our game that we need to improve on.”
    The RP five has less than a month to prepare for the Asian Games on Nov. 12 to 27 where it will face Saudi Arabia in a do-or-die match in the opening round.
     Smart Gilas has to hurdle the Saudi five to advance in a group which includes Asian champion Iran, Japan, Qatar and Chinese Taipei. 
     Toroman will name the final 12-man roster on the Nov. 4 deadline set by the Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee.