Love for the game: E-Gilas locked on amid lockdown

MANILA, Philippines — Preparation for the E-Gilas Pilipinas squad has not been hindered by the COVID-19 crisis in the country.

Chosen to represent the Philippines in the upcoming maiden FIBA Esports Open, the team recently appeared on Tiebreaker Vods' 2OT podcast and shared how they have been training for the tournament kicking off on Friday. 

"Nung nag lockdown, parang walang nagbago talaga sa amin. Parehas pa rin yung routines, pagkagising mo maglalaro ka, bago ka matulog dapat kakaoff mo lang ng PS4 mo." said E-Gilas coach Nite Alparas.

The sentiment was echoed by Clark Banzon, who previously played in the APAC NBA2K20 Global Championship. 

"Ang pinagkaiba lang po hindi lang kami nagkikita-kita. Pero yung routine namin to play with each other every day, same lang," he said.

On a regular day, Banzon narrated that they could go a minimum of 10 hours playing NBA 2K. 

"Hindi na po namin masyado iniisip yung oras kasi yung ginagawa naman po namin, gusto namin. So yung hours na yun, mabilis na yun samin yung 10 hours parang three hours lang yun sa amin kapag naglalaro na kami." Banzon said.

E-Gilas' first taste of action will be against Team Indonesia on Friday. 

But apart from worrying about preparations, the squad is also considering their internet connection for the upcoming match.

"Kung sa online gaming, so pinakaminimum po talaga na net speed is 20 mbps pataas." said Rial Polog Jr., a two-time champion in NBA2K Asia back in 2016 and 2019.

"Bale po ang pinakaimportante po tinitignan namin [with regards to this Friday's match] yung internet connection, yung bilis," said Banzon.

"Saka yung delay kung meron man. Kapag plus 20 sila, doon kami kakabahan kasi mahirap pag ganon eh," added Alparas.

But despite that, Alparas is confident of the Filipino prowess when it comes to online basketball.

"Skill-wise kasi pagdating sa 2K ang husay ng mga Pilipino," said Alparas.

E-Gilas' match against Idonesia (and all their succeeding matches) will be streamed live on FIBA's YouTube, Facebook and Twitch accounts. It will also be streamed via Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas' Facebook page.