The back-to-back games in Estonia have served their purpose for Gilas Pilipinas. Now, it's time to hone the fundamentals and train the Philippine men's national basketball team to handle multiple games in succession to prepare for the FIBA World Cup.
The focus right now for coach Chot Reyes is to get Gilas Pilipinas in optimal game shape.
"Right now, it's all about putting in the fundamentals, getting on the same page, putting in the foundation, slowly getting to game shape," Reyes told One Sports' Carlo Pamintuan.
Gilas Pilipinas lost two close tuneup games to Estonia and Finland, but Reyes got what he wanted, which was constant and sustained pressure on the players right from the get-go.
He's looking to up the ante in Lithuania as he seeks to emulate the tight schedule of the World Cup.
"At least four games in ten days. Those are going to be good tests for us," Reyes said, adding that players have to get used to the FIBA pace instead of the PBA pace.
The coach said he also wants to focus on defensive fundamentals, techniques, and mechanics—making sure that everyone understands one another when it comes to terminologies.
"From here we can build on it, run some schemes, run some different looks," he noted.
Gilas Pilipinas will be playing in the FIBA World Cup opener on August 25 at the Philippine Arena against the Dominican Republic. The squad will get a day of rest before taking on Angola on August 27. The Philippines will have another break before battling Italy on August 29.
The second stage and the classification rounds will start on August 31 until September 3.
(GM)