Smart Gilas to host Jordanian, Chinese teams

Smart Gilas will take a short break before plunging back into action in a minitournament organized by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).

Gilas will play the national team of Jordan and a squad from the Chinese Basketball Association in the minitournament which is part of the Nationals’ preparations for the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, in November.

The annual William R. Jones Cup in Taiwan will be the next stop for the Nationals next month. They are also eyeing the third International Basketball Federation (Fiba)-Asia Stankovic Cup in Beirut in August. The Philippines and Malaysia clash in a playoff for the right to represent Southeast Asia in the Stankovic Cup. The schedule of the RP-Malaysia match has yet to be determined.

“We are still talking to Malaysia regarding the date of the playoff for the qualifying slot in the Stankovic Cup,” said SBP executive director Noli Eala. “So far, the dates proposed by both sides have not been acceptable.”

The Stankovic Cup, which will be hosted by Lebanon from August 7 to 15, will help determine how far Gilas has gone because Asian champion Iran, Jordan, South Korea, Japan and host Lebanon are entered in the competition.

Qatar won the inaugural Stankovic Cup while Jordan took the crown in 2008 in Kuwait.

Gilas will be playing for the first time in the Jones Cup, held in honor of the founding secretary-general of Fiba. Philippine Basketball Association-backed national teams used to represent the Philippines in the Jones Cup, with the Yeng Guiao-coached squad of professionals finishing sixth in the nine-team Jones Cup last year with only two wins against six losses.

According to a report in Taipei’s Liberty Times, host Taiwan is again fielding two teams in the Jones Cup tournament—the national team and the Taiwanese University All-Stars. The paper also confirmed the participation of Japan, Iran, Lebanon and a team from Western Australia.

Injured key players including JV Casio, Marco Lassiter, JR Cawaling and Rabeh Al-Hussaini, meanwhile, will resume training next week.

Casio, the top guard in the Dubai Invitational, Lassiter, Cawaling and Al-Hussaini did not play in the 21st Fiba-Asia Champions Cup in Doha, Qatar. The Philippines finished seventh with only two wins in the 10-nation tournament won by Mahram of Iran.

Gilas head coach Rajko Toroman eyes a medal finish for the Philippines in the Asian Games. The last time a Philippine team made the podium of the quadrennial meet was in 1998 when the Centennial Team of coach Tim Cone beat Kazakhstan, 73-68, for the bronze.