Italy will face several top nations in its build up for the FIBA World Cup.
It’s not just Gilas Pilipinas that’s ramping up its preparations for the FIBA World Cup. One of its toughest opponents is also getting ready for the tournament.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday night, Gilas assistant coach Tim Cone bared some news he read about Italy’s tough tune-up games for the FIBA World Cup.
“Italy is playing like seven different countries," said Cone. “They're obviously really preparing and preparing hard, playing tough teams like Greece, Spain, and Serbia.”
Greece, Spain, and Serbia are obviously considered as some of the top basketball nations as they feature several of the NBA’s best players.
Italy, who is also considered a dangerous opponent come the tournament, is part of Group A alongside Gilas, Dominican Republic, and Angola.
“That's one of the teams we're going to be playing, so we gotta figure out to try and match or surpass their preparation,” said Cone.
As Gilas begins its training camp in Estonia, both Cone and Gilas coach Chot Reyes admitted that they don’t expect Gilas to be a great team just yet, but they are hopeful that this trip will help them achieve that.
“We're just trying to focus on the day-to-day and keep building incrementally,” said Cone. “We don't expect to be great right now, but we expect to really keep moving forward and hopefully by World Cup time, we will be great.”
It will surely be great if Gilas builds something great in time for the world's most prestigious basketball conclave, which the Philippines is co-hosting with Japan and Indonesia.
(With reports from Martie Bautista, News5)
(MDB)