The Philippine men’s national basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas, who are set to compete in the upcoming 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, which begins tomorrow in China, will be leaning on outside shooting in hopes of pulling off a few upsets in their quest for the title.
Gilas head coach Joseller ‘Yeng’ Guiao emphasized the importance of shooting.
“When we’re shooting well, we win games; when we’re shooting well, it becomes a little bit easier to win games,” he said.
The coach recalled their recent series of friendly games in Spain.
“The three games that we won in Spain, we were really shooting well,” Guiao explained. “The only bad game we played was the game against Congo, when we shot really bad from the outside.”
He also highlighted “good perimeter shooting,” which was utilized in their more recent friendly against Australian side, the Adelaide 36ers. Gilas lost that game, 85-75.
Gilas is drawn in Group D at the World Cup D alongside Angola, Italy, and Serbia. They face their first opponent, Italy, tomorrow./ASC, WDJ