Winalis ng Gilas Pilipinas ang first window ng FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers matapos pulbusin ang Chinese Taipei, 106-53, sa kanilang paghaharap sa Philsports Arena nitong Linggo.
May kartada na ngayon ang Gilas na 2-0, na tinalo rin ang Hong Kong, 94-64, noong Huwebes.
Ipagpapatuloy ng Pilipinas ang kaniyang road to FIBA Cup sa Nobyembre kung saan makakaharap naman nila ang New Zealand at Hong Kong muli sa ikalawang window ng Asia Cup Qualifiers.
Sa darating na July, sasagupa rin ang Gilas para 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, ayon kay coach Tim Cone
"We were just talking in the locker room about how this kind of feels like an ending because we don’t play again until another three or four months and so it kind of feels like an ending for us," sabi ni Cone.
"We wish we had one more game to play next week or in a couple of days so we can keep this group together, but that’s not something we can control. I don’t think there’s one guy in our team not looking forward to June and getting back together and getting this team going," patuloy niya.
Gayunman, hindi magiging madali ang road to Olympics ng Gilas dahil kakaharapin nila sa July 3 sa Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia, ang world no. 8 na Latvia. Sa July 4, ang No. 23 na Georgia naman ang kanilang makakalaban.
Umaasa si Cone na magiging maganda ang kondisyon at kalagayan ng kaniyang 12-man team pagdating ng naturang mga laban. -- FRJ, GMA Integrated News
