Coaches to scout Gilas first 2 rivals

INCHEON – Three coaches were expected to arrive last night ahead of the Smart Gilas Pilipinas and the coaching staff to scout the country’s first opponent in the second round of the Asian Games basketball competitions on Sept. 23 at the Samsan World Gymnasium.

Here to do the scouting job are assistant coaches Jong Uichico, Josh Reyes and Tab Baldwin, who were scheduled to take the Philippine Airlines afternoon flight to this city, but their arrival was not confirmed because of the super-typhoon ravaging Manila.

The Gilas team and the coaching staff of head coach Chot Reyes are expected to arrive tonight.

The Philippines is seeded into the second round of the 16-team competitions under a format where the region’s top 8 teams get a bye in the first round and will be joined in the second round by the four qualifiers from the first round.

The Philippines is in Group E with Iran. China and Chinese Taipei are in Group C, Korea and Jordan in Group D and Japan and Qatar in Group F.

Bunched in Group A are Mongolia, Hong Kong, Kuwait and Maldives while those in Group B are Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Palestine and India.

Under the Asian Games format, the winner of Group A goes to Group C, the second to Group D. The Group B winner goes to Group E, joining Smart Gilas and Iran, while the second placer goes to Group F.

They will watch today’s first preliminary games pitting Kazakhstan against Saudi Arabia at 2 p.m. (1 p.m. in Manila) and India against Palestine at 4 p.m. (3 p.m. in Manila).

“Our opponent will either be Kazakhstan or India,” said Castro.

Castro would not rule out the possibility of India and Kazakhstan having scouted the Smart Gilas team that played in the World Cup and would avoid being the Group B topnotcher to avoid falling into a trap playing Iran and the Philippines in the next round.

“They must have seen us play, so it’s up to them (India and Kazakhstan) to decide whether they should top Group B or place second to join Japan and Qatar in Group F.

In the second round, each of the three-team groups play two games with the top two from each group advancing to the  (Nov. 27-29) quarterfinals. There the eight teams will be divided into two groups, which will play three games each. The top two from each group move to the semifinal round Oct. 1. The finals will be held two days later.