Gilas' big win against India to prepare them for New Zealand

The grind does not stop for Gilas Pilipinas as they are set to face New Zealand in the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup.

Head coach Chot Reyes and Thirdy Ravena admitted that their 42-point win against India was a big help for their preparation against the Tall Blacks.

"Number one, this gets us to the next phase, to get a chance to move forward. And number two, it prepares us for New Zealand," said Reyes in a post-game conference.

"We knew that New Zealand is a very strong team, but the one thing that we cannot take away from these [Gilas] players is the fight in them. They have a deep level of fight in our hearts," Reyes added. "We know that we don’t have our best team and our best players here, but it’s not going to deter us. It’s not going to stop us from playing at our best, and that’s really all we can do, really all we can ask for."

Ravena, meanwhile, said they should correct their mistakes from the game against India as this might reflect and add to their woes when they play New Zealand.

"We have another game in New Zealand, and they’re a very strong team. And the mistakes we made earlier, they will definitely punish us if we make those in that game. So we have to improve with some of our technicalities, tactics in the game," Ravena said.

"We just have to respect every single opponent that we have and that’s what we did today. And I’m very proud of what we did. But now it’s time to move on to the next game."

Gilas Pilipinas will face New Zealand on Friday to wrap up their group phase in the tournament.

The nationals need to finish at least third in the group to qualify for a playoff spot for the quarterfinals. The Philippines currently has a 1-1 record to place third in the group standings.

—JMB, GMA News