Hybrid Gilas for FIBA Asia Cup?

MANILA, Philippines — Six games in three windows over a 12-month period are scheduled for the Philippines in Group A of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 qualifiers and SBP president Al Panlilio said the other day it’s likely that Gilas will employ a hybrid lineup when the national team hosts Thailand to open the campaign on Feb. 20.

Eliminations for the FIBA Asia Cup started in February last year with sub-zone pre-qualifiers involving 15 teams. Struck out were United Arab Emirates, Oman, Brunei, Cambodia, Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal. Then the regional pre-qualifiers took out Bangladesh, Fiji, Singapore and Macau, advancing 14 to the main draw.

The 24 remaining contenders for 16 slots in the FIBA Asia Cup are split into six groups of four with games set from Feb. 20 this year to Feb. 21 next year. In Group A are the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea. Group B is made up of Chinese-Taipei, Japan, Malaysia and China. Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Guam are in Group C while Bahrain, Lebanon, India and Iraq comprise Group D. In Group E are Saudi Arabia, Syria, Qatar and Iran. Jordan, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and Palestine compose Group F.

The Philippines will engage Thailand at home on Feb. 20 then travels to play Indonesia on Feb. 23, South Korea on Nov. 27 and Thailand on Nov. 30. Gilas will wind up its double round-robin Group A assignments against Indonesia on Feb. 18 and South Korea on Feb. 21, both at home next year.

Panlilio said the composition of the national team for the coming first window is still up for discussion. One option is to redeploy the squad that took the gold medal in 5x5 at the recent SEA Games. “But maybe we should embark on our journey to 2023,” said Panlilio, referring to SBP’s long-term program to develop a pool playing all year round until the next FIBA World Cup. “Use the young Gilas players then maybe for the (coming) February window, augment with PBA players.”

SBP got the ball rolling to form a youthful national pool by tapping the first five players chosen in the PBA draft early this month. The players are Isaac Go, Rey Suerte, Matt Nieto, Allyn Bulanadi and Mike Nieto.

It’s possible that the five will be included in the team playing Thailand and Indonesia in the first window, reinforced by PBA veterans. No decision has been made on who will coach Gilas. A source said SBP will decide on the coach and composition of the team on Jan. 6.