Nationals depart for Taipei

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas departs at noon Monday for Taiwan for its third and last “away game” in the first round of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers, eyeing a repeat of its “home” win over Chinese Taipei to firm up its spot at second place behind mighty Australia in their group.

Deprived of a complete lineup in practices at home, coach Chot Reyes will finally have all his players at his disposal as they set foot in Taiwan four days ahead of their matchup Friday at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium

All Gilas players that suited up in the Phl-Taipei game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last November, except Kiefer Ravena and Kevin Alas, will be in the Team Phl delegation flying to Taipei via China Airline.

 Jason Castro top scored with 20 points, June Mar Fajardo produced 17 points, eight rebounds and two assists while Matthew Wright and RR Pogoy chipped in 11 points apiece as the Nationals overcame a gritty Taipei side, 90-83, in their first matchup.

Andray Blatche, Gabe Norwood, Calvin Abueva, Troy Rosario, Allein Malicsi and Japeth Aguilar completed the Gilas roster then.

Minus Ravena and Alas, Gilas will have the returning Terrence Romeo, Jio Jalalon and Baser Amer to choose from to fill in the spots. Then there are wing guys Carl Bryan Cruz and Troy Rike, a Gilas cadet.

 Reyes is expected to name his final 12 on the eve of the Friday game where the Nationals seek to improve their record to 4-1 before wrapping up their first-round matches versus Australia at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan on July 2.

But Gilas surely can’t take Chinese Taipei for granted as the Taiwanese are hard-pressed to win to boost their bid for the third and last berth in the second round from Group B.

Taipei must win its last two games against the Philippines and Japan to assure passage into the next round where qualifiers from Group B are likely to play Iran, Kazakhstan and Qatar.

The Taiwanese are to play before a sellout crowd in their new playing arena, and they brim with confidence they can hold their own against the Filipinos in their turf.

“All I can say is ‘this is my house.’ This time, we also have some stronger players joining us. As long as we control our fouls, I believe that we will win this time,” said Taiwanese hotshot Huang Tsung-han in a Fiba.com report.

“Playing at home has always been very important. In home games, the whole country cheer for the players, and it will stimulate the players more. It will strengthen our desire to achieve victory,” Huang also said.

Tickets for the Phl-Taipei match at the 8,000-seater Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium has long been sold out.