T.Ravena at Parks, inaasahan ng coach sa FIBA Asia Cup

ni MC - @Sports | July 5, 2022

Umaasa ang Gilas Pilipinas na sa pagsabak sa 2022 FIBA Asia Cup sa susunod na linggo ay makakasama na nila muli sina Thirdy Ravena at Ray Parks sa kabila ng kakulangan sa players.

Wala naman si Kai Sotto sa Gilas, pero may ilang pangalan si coach Chot Reyes na idaragdag sa national pool. Nagpahinga naman si Dave Ildefonso dahil sa injury nang tibagin ng Gilas ang India, 79-63 sa pagsasara ng first round ng 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers noong Linggo.

Umaasa naman si head coach Nenad Vucenic na sana ay nasa kalusugan ang lahat ng players pagtungo nila ng Indonesia para sa Asia Cup.

"Right now I'm not quite sure if we're just gonna have more than 10 players," saad ni Vucenic. "We're hoping that guys like Thirdy Ravena [and] Bobby Ray Parks would join the team. It's good to have a full 12.Again we're out of balance because we have a lot of guards and not enough big guys," dagdag niya. "But as I've said, it's just the way it is."

Sa kabila ng kulang sa players, nagwagi pa rin ang Gilas laban sa India kung saan pinalakas nina Dwight Ramos at Kiefer Ravena. Nakagawa si Ramos ng team-high 21 points, 5 rebounds at 2 assists. Tumapos si Ravena ng 12 markers, 4 dimes, at 2 boards.

"It was an important game for us. We needed the win. We had a tough trip to New Zealand. Literally. The way we got there, it was very difficult to play that game because of the level of opposition."

Pagsampa sa Asia Cup, ani Vucenic bitbit na nila ang bentahe nang unang paghaharap sa India, New Zealand, at Lebanon sa group phase.