TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Gilas Pilipinas wasted no time in preparing for Friday's match against Chinese Taipei for the third window of the FIBA Asia Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Just hours after their arrival in Taiwan at approximately 2 p.m. Monday, the group made a brief stop at their hotel, changed gear and made their way to the Jhong Jheng Sports Center, their practice facility for the next few days.
Gilas coach Chot Reyes told ESPN5 he was pleased with the way the first session went.
"Considering we just got off the plane, I thought there was a lot of energy," he said. "But more than anything we wanted a lot of mental concentration in this practice. Because everything we need to do we have to get them done already so that the next few days we'll just focus on execution and running it against some live defense."
Of the 15 players who flew to Taiwan, Troy Rike was the only player who came from the Gilas 23 for 2023 pool. Reyes said there was a need to bring Rike on the trip to help the team simulate what the opponents' strategy would be when they start running 5-on-5 sets.
"We needed a practice player. You see the way we run things, we have one team essentially tasked to run the offense of the other team. We felt that Troy was perfect for what we had in mind," Reyes said of Rike.
According to Reyes, the team will have three sessions on Tuesday -- weights, film reveiw, and another practice which will also take place at the Jhong Jheng Sports Center. Immediately after that, Gilas will attend a meet-and-greet session with an estimate of 100 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Despite the progress, Reyes cautioned his players on the battle ahead, especially against a Chinese Taipei team who will be playing with a sense of urgency.
"This is their qualification game. If they beat us they get into the next round, so we know that Chinese Taipei is going to throw everything at us on Friday. It's incumbent upon us to be just as ready and sharp as well," he said.
The deadline for the submission of the final Gilas 12 for the Chinese Taipei matchup is Thursday.
Gilas Pilipinas and Chinese Taipei play at 7 p.m. Friday at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium. The game will be live on ESPN5 and on livestream on ESPN5.com.