Elite competition beckons Filipino dribblers

Gilas Pilipinas will be colliding with an elite cast of competitors in the FIBA Asia Cup that is set to kick off on Tuesday night (Manila time) at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Reigning champion Australia, South Korea, Qatar and New Zealand all surfaced as the teams to beat, giving the Filipinos a tough time clinching the title they last lifted in 1985.

The Australians will not have a current National Basketball Association (NBA) player like Patty Mills or Dante Exum in their roster, but they will parade a deep lineup overflowing with hunger and youthful energy.

Leading the charge for the Boomers, who have an average age of 22 years old, will be former Washington Wizard Xavier Cook, former Milwaukee Buck Jaylin Galloway, and former Duke standout Jack White.

The 29-year-old Cooks is among the most experienced after playing in various clubs in Australia, Germany, and Japan. But his biggest break came in 2023 when the Wizards signed him to a contract that paved the way for his solid performance of 10 points and 14 rebounds in a regular season game against the Houston Rockets on 9 April.

Australia will tip off its pool play campaign against South Korea, which is also billed as among the heavyweights in this prestigious continental tourney.

South Korea will be led by Lee Hyun Jung, Yeo Jun Seok and 2024 Korean Basketball League Rookie of the Year Yu Ki Sang of Changwon LG Sakers while Kim Jong Kyu and Lee Woo Suk will serve as the only holdovers from the squad that finished sixth in 2022.

Naturalized player Ra Gun-A will no longer be around while national team mainstay Heo Hoon will sit out but the Koreans are expected to display their deadly form in their first game against the Australians.

“I think Australia, the first opponent of the tournament, is mostly an overwhelming team, but we have to run to know the game,” said Lee Hyun-joong, who knows the Australians pretty well after campaigning for the Illawarra Hawks in the National Basketball League (NBL).

“I’m going to tell the team a lot of information and tactics about Australian players. I think I should keep studying. It’s not just me, it’s the same for all the players. We will do our best to prepare for the rest of the year.”

Qatar and New Zealand should also not be taken lightly.

The Qataris will be parading a rock-solid roster bannered by Tyler Harris, the 6-foot-7 younger brother of NBA star Tobias Harris of the Detroit Pistons, as well as naturalized player Brandon Goodwin and Montenegrin-born Alen Hadzibegovic.

The dribblers from the mineral-rich country will also be reinforced by Ndoye Seydou, Moustapha Ndao, Babacar Dieng, and Abdulrahman Saad.

“The result of the Asia Cup is important for the players’ confidence,” Qatar head coach Hakar Demir said, adding that he is looking past the Asia Cup.

“Of course, we know we are in the top group, but I believe we can make it a surprise, and either way, we will improve every year until 2027.”

“My real goal is to be a top four team in Asia and to always stay there, to keep Qatar there.”

Meanwhile, the Tall Blacks, who are in the same group as Gilas Pilipinas, will not have the luxury of having Corey Webster and Reuben Te Rangi but will bring back Tohi Smith-Milner, Jordan Ngatai and two-time NBL champion Jordan Hunt.

New Zealand is coming off an 87-70 win over the Philippines in the final leg of the qualifiers in February in Auckland and had won four of its five friendly matches, giving it a huge amount of confidence heading into the Asia Cup.

The Filipinos are scheduled to face the Tall Blacks on Thursday at 11 p.m. (Manila time).

MAR