Gilas Pilipinas Women head coach Burke “BT” Toews is putting a premium on his squad’s defense as the team prepares for major competitions this year, starting with the FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Mexico two weeks from now.

Three months since his appointment as replacement for long-time Gilas Women mentor Pat Aquino, the Canadian tactician pointed out a specific aspect of the Filipinas’ game that needs improvement.

“I think the biggest, or the part, where I want to put in my most effort, is defensively. And just to make sure that we have not just a solid defense, but a defense that is also attacking,” Toews said during an intimate luncheon with select media on Thursday.

The 60-year-old coach wants Gilas Women to take advantage of their speed to compensate for their lack of size against taller opponents. He wants the Philippine team to put pressure down the backcourt and run in transition.

“Because we would like to be in transition as much as possible because of our lack of size,” he said.

“And then take the best parts of Filipino players and put them in a position to succeed with the talent that they have.”

Gilas Women will surely need speed when they take on host Mexico, Canada and African powerhouse Senegal in Group B of the Pre-OQT slated from 17 to 23 August.

“The major obstacle when you play internationally is in the half court, right? I think everybody’s seen that. When you’re running 96 feet, you’ve got all that space, and you can use speed and you can use timing and you can use cutting. It’s fine,” the two-time Women’s Japan Basketball League champion tactician said.

“But when the defense gets set, and it’s the half court, and you’re not a big team, it gets tough to score. And so, I think the offense can be organized and this last camp I spent a lot of time with that,” he added.

“We should see at least, I don’t know whether shots will go in or not, but I think that you will see that there’s some method to what we do on offense.”

As part of their preparation, the national squad will fly to the United States next week for a training camp in Las Vegas before heading to Guadalajara for the Pre-OQT.

Veteran internationalist Jack Animam leads the Gilas Women pool along with seasoned players Afril Bernardino, Tin Cayabyab, Angel Surada, Kent Pastana, Ann Pingol, Kacey dela Rosa and Jhaz Joson.

Also in the lineup are Vanessa de Jesus, Monique del Carmen, Sophia Dignadice, Camille Malagar, Louna Ozar, Janine Pontejos, Tiffany Reyes, Jaz Salon and Alyssa Rodriguez.

Group A of the Pre-OQT is composed of Brazil, Argentina, South Sudan and New Zealand.

Team battle in a single round robin group stage with the top two teams in each bracket advancing to the crossover semifinals. The winner of the tournament will qualify for the 2028 FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.