Tough World Cup trek starts in Malaysia for Gilas boys

Irus Chua (right) will be a vital cog for the Gilas boys. — SBP PHOTO

Confidence will be the least of the Philippines’ worries when it plunges into action in the Southeast Asia Basketball Association (Seaba) Under-16 Championship in Indonesia Monday, with the Filipinos believing that they belong in an entirely bigger arena.

“This squad can play in the World Cup,” said Kieffer Alas, one of the two players seen to banner the team that will try to extend the Gilas boys’ four-edition reign in the biannual showcase.

The Philippines opens its campaign against Malaysia at GOR Kertajaya Arena in Surabaya. Game time is at 4 p.m. (Manila time) with this crop of young guns hoping to prove it is just as dominant as the squads that came before.

“I think I’ll have the advantage as I got to see the bigger picture [of the sport] in other countries and how [the game is played] through different perspectives,” said Irus Chua, the other standout eager to cash in on lessons he picked up during the NBA Academy Asia Development Camp in Singapore.

As the boys’ team shoots for a dominant debut, the Gilas girls will be trying to put a gilded touch to their own fine run in the U16 Asian Championship in Amman, Jordan.

The squad led by Ava Fajardo, Ryan Nair, Ariel Star de la O and Demicah Arnaldo were battling unbeaten Iran in the wee hours of Monday morning (Manila time), hoping to rule the event and tab an elusive top-flight status that would allow the Philippines to compete against continental heavyweights in the next edition of the tournament.

Pat Aquino and his charges were coming off a 79-44 blowout of Malaysia in the semifinals that buried the ghost of last year.

Eye-popping average

Before the finalé against Iran, the Gilas girls dispatched opponents in eye-popping fashion, winning by an average margin of 61 points.

The Gilas boys, meanwhile, scored an 83-62 blowout of Malaysia the last time they met in 2017, with the Philippines bannered that year by Kai Sotto and Forthsky Padrigao. That team’s unbeaten run sealed its place in the Asian Championships in Foshan the next year and eventually the U-17 World Cup in Argentina.

This year’s Seaba meet will send the top two finishers to the Fiba (International Basketball Federation) U-16 Asian Championship that will be held in Qatar from Sept. 17 through 24 and national coach Josh Reyes has since declared that the long-term goal is to return to the World Cup set in Turkey in June 2024.

Only two nations will advance to the showcase in Doha.

“This team is not as big but [they] are tough and they can shoot really well. They’re all attentive and they really want to learn how to play the game the right way,” Reyes said. INQ