Gilas Pilipinas U18 collides with Thai powerhouse

Hot Thailand puts Gilas Pilipinas U18 to a test immediately as the SEABA women’s tournament gets underway Friday in Ratchaburi.

The 6 p.m. game against the Thais serves as the outright gold medal play as the two other participating teams in Malaysia and Indonesia have already qualified to the FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup Division A.

The winner between the Filipinas and the host country will qualify to the FIBA U18Women’s Asia Cup Division B next month in Shenzhen, China.

The team will be leaving for Thailand on Wednesday.

“We have talked about this and we all agreed that we will dictate the tempo right from the start until the fourth,” head coach Julie Amos said during Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

Gilas Pilipinas women’s team coach Pat Aquino added that there is a sense of mystery to the Thai team.

“I’ve seen some of the names (Thai players) and the others played in the women’s U16 and that’s the only thing we know about them. They are very secretive.”

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Erika Dy accompanied Aquino and Amos in the weekly session held at the conference hall of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex together with the entire team led by captain Ava Fajardo.

Other members of the squad are Gabby Ramos, Naomi Panganiban, Alyssa Rodriguez, Jolzyne Impresso, Margaret Villanueva, Aubrey Lapasaran, Sophia Canindo, Ashley Abong, Tiffany Reyes, Venice Quinte and Margarette Duenas.

“As a team, we’re going to play to the best of our ability, play with our hearts, and hopefully, we can come up with the gold,” said Fajardo, younger sister of national team member Ella Fajardo, in the session presented by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, Smart/PLDT, and the leading sports entertainment gateway in the Philippines ArenaPlus.

The team has been practicing twice a day as the tournament approaches, and played tune-up matches against the Gilas women’s national team, Adamson University, Far Eastern University, National University, and the boys team of University of the Philippines Integrated School.

After Thailand, the squad will play Malaysia on the 25th and Indonesia on the 26th.

“We hope they will play well in Thailand. The federation is here to support them with what they need, and we would love for them to come back with the gold medal. But more importantly, I’m excited for them because I know they will come back as better Filipino citizens,” said Dy of the team, which Amos describes as very coachable, has a high basketball IQ, and is very committed.