Gilas Pilipinas will receive reinforcements for the FIBA Asia Cup, which will be hosted in Jakarta, Indonesia this month. The reinforcements are a result of injuries in the third window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualifications due to injuries.
Kiefer Ravena, the captain of the Gilas team, revealed that Thirdy would be competing for the Gilas at the continental competition. He claimed that before deciding to play, his sibling wanted to be sure of his health.
Ravena about his Brother and the Reinforcements
“I think he’ll be there from the last time I heard from him. He was just trying to recover from his injury and wanted to be healthy for the FIBA Asia Cup. He did not want to come out and join the team not 100 percent because he’s gonna end up hurting the team more than benefiting it,” the older Ravena told CNN Philippines’ Sports Desk Monday.
Gilas and the Injury Problems
In the third window of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers, the Philippines only used 10 players. The naturalized big man Angelo Kouame and Dave Ildefonso were both sidelined due to injuries to their knees.
Kiefer Ravena discussed a balanced squad of Young and Experienced Players
With a young core, Kiefer claimed that freshly formed Team unity will be crucial in their next journey. In Group D of the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup, Gilas is paired with New Zealand, India, and Lebanon.
“We’re really banking on one another, the brotherhood that we developed all throughout the month that we had. I think that’s going to be a big part of coming to FIBA Asia (Cup). One thing that’s good there, we already faced the two teams (New Zealand and India) in our group so we kinda have a glimpse on how to prepare for them, and Lebanon is no stranger to the Asian scene,” he said.
The Philippines’ FIBA Asia Cup campaign will begin on July 13 against Lebanon. it will be followed by matches against India and New Zealand on July 15 and July 17, respectively.
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