Gilas Pilipinas are on the road again as they take on Chinese Taipei at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium to open window three of their FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel stalwarts Justin Brownlee and Scottie Thompson will banner Gilas against Chinese Taipei in the game slated for 7:00 p.m. Manila time. Brownlee and Thompson are two of seven Nationals who played all four games of the first and second windows of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers last year.
Chris Newsome, CJay Perez, Japeth Aguilar, Carl Tamayo, and Calvin Oftana, all of whom played the same four games as well, will join Brownlee and Thompson. Kevin Quiambao, Dwight Ramos, June Mar Fajardo, AJ Edu, and Jamie Malonzo round out the team. Edu and Malonzo will see action at the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers for the first time after sitting out the first two windows due to injury.
What the Gilas Pilipinas-Chinese Taipei Game Means
From a qualifying perspective, the game later tonight means nothing to Gilas. The Nationals have already qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup by virtue of their pristine 4-0 record—including wins against Chinese Taipei and New Zealand—from the previous two windows.
Tim Cone, however, is treating this third window as part of Gilas’ preparations for the big dance in Saudi Arabia in August later this year and will likely command his troops with at least a bit of urgency.
Chinese Taipei, meanwhile, is shooting for a victory to solidify its hold on third place in Group B. The Taiwanese squad is currently 1-3, just a game ahead of winless Hong Kong. Finishing third in the group means it will still have a chance to qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup through the Qualifying Tournament to be played among the third place teams of the different groups.
Players to Watch for Gilas Pilipinas
After averaging 20.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in the previous two windows, Brownlee will once again be expected to lead Gilas Pilipinas along with Thompson, who put up 6.8 points and 6.8 assists in the same four games. Dwight Ramos and June Mar Fajardo are likely to do some heavy lifting as well as both have averaged in double-digits in the windows.
Malonzo and Edu are players to watch as well as they look to assimilate into Cone’s intricate system. Edu’s fantastic showing against Qatar in Gilas’ lone win at the 2nd Doha International Cup is reason to be optimistic about the big man’s national team future. Malonzo, on the other hand, still looked out of shape after missing nearly a year due to a calf injury.
After Chinese Taipei, Gilas Pilipinas will next take on New Zealand on the road to conclude the qualifiers.
