Game today:

(Philsports Arena)

7:30 p.m. — Philippines vs Chinese Taipei

After crushing Hong Kong, Gilas Pilipinas aims to have another strong performance when it battles an old foe in Chinese Taipei in the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers tonight at the Philsports Arena.

Game time is at 7:30 p.m. with the Filipinos looking to use their 94-64 win over Hong Kong as an advantage in sweeping the first window of this prestigious event that serves as a gateway to the FIBA Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia next year.

With the hometown crowd at its side, Gilas Pilipinas is tipped to go all out against a Taiwanese squad that it has already faced several times in the international stage.

Their most unforgettable battle happened 11 years ago when the Taiwanse defeated the Filipinos, 84-79 in the 2013 FIBA ASIA Championship in Manila. Gilas, however, recovered and went on to beat South Korea in the semifinals to clinch the silver medal and book a historic trip to the 2014 FIBA World Championship in Spain.

Gilas Pilipinas, which used to be a guard-oriented team back then, had already evolved as it addressed its lack of size with length and athleticism that allows it to match-up well with bigger teams.

The squad back then was bannered by the deadly duo of Jimmy Alapag and Jayson Castro but now has taller, more athletic stars like 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto, 6-foot-9 Japeth Aguilar, 6-foot-8 Kevin Quiambao, 6-foot-7 Carl Tamayo and a pair of 6-foot-5 wingers in Jamie Malonzo and Calvin Oftana.

With such an advantage, Gilas is expected to come up with a good fight against the Taiwanese, who fell prey to New Zealand in the first game of the first window, 69-89.

Still, the biggest factor for Gilas is the crowd support.

After clinching a historic gold medal in the 19th Asian Games and having the country's most popular mentor and import in Tim Cone and Justin Brownlee as spearheads, there is no doubt that Gilas had completely won the hearts and minds of the Filipinos.