Exposure is a good thing.
After the Gilas Pilipinas Women ensured they would remain in Division A of the FIBA Women's Asia Cup until 2025 and got their first group win since the 2015 promotion, coach Pat Aquino is setting his sights on a higher goal—the Asian Games.
It will be the first participation of the Philippine women's national basketball team in the Asian Games under the Gilas Pilipinas program.
The Filipinas last finished sixth in the 1998 edition.
Coach Pat Aquino will be aiming to improve their chances by returning to the William Jones Cup. And this time, they will be aiming for a victory, having finished winless against Japanese and Korean club teams, as well as two Chinese Taipei squads, and a group from New Zealand in 2019.
The Gilas Pilipinas Women have also been invited to Korea by the end of August ahead of the regional tournament in September.
For Aquino, all these high-level games and exposure will just push the Filipinas' confidence even further as they remain in Division A.
"I believe that these girls have the talent to exceed that level," Aquino told Noli Eala in Saturday's Power and Play in Radyo5.
The Gilas Pilipinas Women finished sixth in the recent FIBA Women's Asia Cup, beating Chinese Taipei before very nearly getting an upset over New Zealand.
He also noted that the Philippine women's national pool is growing, given the squads competing in the U16 and U18 tournaments.
"We have young girls coming out. We have good talents," he said. "With those little things, we can compete in FIBA Asia. The confidence will be higher. Siguro more girls will be coming in trying to replicate what their ates have been doing."
"It's gonna be a good future for women's basketball."