Gilas women eager to emulate men counterparts

MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas women’s team aims to follow the blueprint of the Gilas men’s team in terms of tedious preparations to achieve the same success when it returns to action this year after an extended hiatus due to the pandemic.

Inspired by the impressive campaign of Gilas men’s in the just-concluded FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, Gilas women’s squad mentor Pat Aquino said that his wards are raring to start their own training camp for the resumption of international women’s events in the coming months. 

“We would like to have the same preparation going into the tournaments. Preparation is the key for success,” Aquino told The STAR while also lauding the success of Gilas men’s.

The Gilas men’s team led by coach and program director Tab Baldwin prepared early since January at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna, translating it to a 6-0 sweep of the Qualifiers in Clark including a rare 2-0 outing against rival South Korea.

Until now, Gilas is still in Clark for non-stop training and a tune-up game against China before it departs to Belgrade, Serbia for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament set June 29-July 4.

Aquino eyes the same grind for the Gilas women’s team, which has the FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup, FIBA Women’s Asia Cup and the 31st Southeast Asian Games on its schedule this year since last playing before the pandemic.

“I'm just excited to see what leads us to the future. I hope we can start practicing also in our preparation in the coming months,” added Aquino, who will meet with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas to finalize their camp also in Laguna.

Expected to banner the Gilas training pool are veterans Jack Animam, Afril Bernardino and Janine Pontejos, who led the country’s twin-gold medal haul in the 2019 SEA Games.

In partnership with Fil-Am Nation Select, Aquino and Gilas women’s are coming off a scouting trip in the United States earlier this month for Filipino-American prospects that will be added to the national women’s pool soon.