Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone during a tune-up game against Macau Black Bears. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Gilas Pilipinas will be facing Jordan in a tuneup match on Saturday, which will hopefully allow coach Tim Cone to make one final tinker as to how he plots the team’s approach going into the Fiba Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The scheduled exhibition, expected to only be shared by the governing Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) through photos or short clips instead of a full game stream, is part of the final buildup Gilas will go through before opening its Asia Cup campaign early Wednesday against Chinese-Taipei.
Cone and the rest of the Gilas contingent arrived on Thursday following a long flight from Manila and immediately went to training mode with less than a week before the competition.
It was a welcome timetable for the team, which hopes to capitalize on this arrangement compared to what it endured in the February window of the Asia Cup Qualifiers when Gilas seemed to have spent more time on the plane than on the court for games or practices.
“In effect, we only had four days of practice in our last trip,” said Cone, recalling that month when it played a pocket tournament in Doha before dropping road games against Chinese-Taipei and New Zealand in the concluding window of the Asia Cup Qualifiers.
“Getting practice time was crucial, but I’d like to get some practice time with June Mar,” he added. “It’s really important that we adjust to his presence.”
Jordan, which the Philippines beat, 70-60, in the gold medal game of the Asian Games in 2023, will reportedly be without Rondae Hollis-Jefferson for the tournament and the friendly with the Filipinos.
Clips shared by One Sports from Jeddah showed Fajardo taking limited participation in Gilas’ first practice there, as he was still dealing with a calf injury that he played through during San Miguel Beer’s run to the PBA Philippine Cup title.
But Calvin Oftana looked as if he’s fine and could play without any hitches despite also nursing an ankle sprain that forced him and Fajardo to rest during Gilas’ tuneup win over the Macau Black Bears last Monday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Saturday’s scrimmage could also be a preview of Gilas’ potential path toward its ambition of winning the Asia Cup.
The Philippines is in Group D of the continental tournament with Chinese-Taipei, New Zealand and Iraq, while Jordan joins China, India and host Saudi Arabia in Group C.
The top teams in each of the four groups will get direct slots to the quarterfinals, while the second and third placers meet in a qualification for the last eight.
Jordan placed fourth in the last Asia Cup held three years ago in Jakarta, behind naturalized player Dar Tucker plus Freddy Ibrahim and Ahmad Al-Dwairi.
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Tucker and Ibrahim are part of Jordan’s 12-man roster for the Asia Cup.