Gilas Women plot pocket tourney ahead of World Cup

Gilas Pilipinas Women are looking to challenge other powerhouse countries in a local tournament as part of their preparation for the FIBA 3x3 World Cup in Poland from 1 to 7 June.

Gilas head coach Anton Altamirano told DAILY TRIBUNE that they want to see action in a pocket tournament featuring the best teams in the world before marching to the prestigious world-class event.

“Well, I’m planning to make a tournament, inviting some international teams to come here. I will see the availability,” said Altamirano, the son of former Batang Gilas coach Eric Altamirano, whose wards returned from Singapore last Monday after ending an eight-year absence in the World Cup.

“Before we went to the Asia Cup, I invited a couple of international teams to have some scrimmages with us for a couple of days. So. I’m trying to simulate it again so I can prepare for the World Cup.”

Altamirano said conditioning won’t be a problem for them as he expects the squad to join more tournaments in the buildup for the World Cup.

“To be honest, we’re not really just preparing for one thing. The 3x3 season is ongoing,” Altamirano said.

“We do a lot of tournaments even before the World Cup. When we get to the World Cup, we’ll probably have played multiple tournaments already. By that time, we’re already in good shape.”

The Philippines will be facing a tough competition in the 20-nation tournament.

The Netherlands, for one, will be gunning for its second straight crown with Mongolia looking to redeem itself after settling for a silver medal last year.

Other countries such as the United States, Canada, Lithuania and France are expected to pose a challenge for Gilas Women in their return to World Cup.

Despite already having a solid core of Kacey dela Rosa, Afril Bernardino, Mikka Cacho and Tantoy Ferrer, Altamirano said they have a pool of players ready to be called up for the national team.

“I don’t think there’s a problem with the lack of players. We have a really good program with our federation. It’s easy to plot who will play in which tournament,” Altamirano said.

“We still have a lot of players who are in our program who are ready to play whenever they’re called.”