The Philippines men’s basketball team will be in tougher company after being moved to new bracket in the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta starting next week.

From Group B, the Philippines was moved to Group D with powerhouse China and Kazakhstan following the withdrawal of Palestine.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas President Al Panlilio confirmed the shuffle by the Indonesia Asian Games Organizing Committee, 10 days before the opening of the Asian quadrennial meet set from 18 August to 2 September.

Led by the Rain or Shine core from the Philippine Basketball Association, the Nationals were originally bracketed in Pool B with Iran, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Syria before the sudden move to Group D.

“Yes, we were moved to Group D with China and Kazakhstan,” said Panlilio in a text message to the Daily Tribune.

With this, the Philippine squad now gets a steeper mountain to scale for having very limited time to prepare. They kicked off their eight-day training Monday night at the Meralco Gym in Ortigas, Pasig City.

Even head coach Yeng Guiao admitted that the task is much harder now, especially being in a group with China.

“In Group B, we could have a good chance in beating Syria and UAE but now in Group D, our fight gets even tougher because only two will qualify to the next round,” he said.