MANILA, Philippines, February 23 ------ Gilas Pilipinas is leaving no stone unturned in terms of maintaining health and safety in its own camp following South Korea’s withdrawal for the start of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers tomorrow due to COVID-19 issues.
Though saddened by the unfortunate development on the side of their good rival at the 11th hour, coach Chot Reyes said the Nationals could only focus on their own preparations moving forward amid the pandemic uncertainties. “What we’ve learned in this environment that we’re playing in now is that you can never know what to expect and this is such one thing,” said Reyes as South Korea decided to skip this window with a number of its players hit by the virus. “So, right now, the best thing that we can do is to stay ready. The only thing we can focus on is our own health,” Reyes added, citing the good news of their negative RT-PCR results after entering the bubble Monday night.
South Korea, which was to play Gilas twice tomorrow and next Monday in Group A, yesterday contracted an additional COVID-19 infection just before its flight to the Philippines. FIBA is yet to issue an official verdict but South Korea’s withdrawal may lead to forfeiture of its scheduled games against Gilas, New Zealand and India based on similar cases of other teams.
For Gilas, the development also hampered its preparations but Reyes is banking on the capability of his hybrid squad, made up of the TNT core and young guns. “We’d like to think that we’ve built this team on versatility. Agility is one of the first things we talked about and how we have to be prepared for whatever comes,” Reyes said. Gilas, which has brought in 15 players in the Novotel-Smart Araneta Coliseum bubble, will now have two matches instead of four against India on Friday and New Zealand on Sunday.
Source: philstar.com
Comentários