TAIPEI, Taiwan -- With just two days away from their much-anticipated game against Chinese Taipei, Gilas Pilipinas has ramped up their training as they continue to gun for their fourth win in the third window of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Gilas head coach Chot Reyes told ESPN5 he is pleased with the progress the team is showing after three days of practice.
"Definitely (there are improvements). It's a huge thing that their only thought is the game at hand on Friday. You can see mentally that they're a lot more attuned with what we're trying to do. Admittedly there are still a few things we need to work on, but overall I'm satisfied with the way we're progressing," Reyes said.
After the usual stretching and conditioning exercises, the 15-player pool continued where they left off, running 5-on-5 scrimmages to simulate what they want to execute on offense, at the same time imitate what the defense might look like on Friday.
From what he saw earlier, Reyes said they still have several things to polish with regard to their offensive sets so they can limit unforced errors against Chinese Taipei.
"I like what I saw from the scrimmages. If there's one thing we're worried about, for me, there's a little too much turnovers. But again that can be attributed to the fact that they haven't been playing together for a long time. The flow is not as smooth as we want it to be, that's leading to some of the turnovers. But otherwise I like the energy and engagement," he explained.
"Hopefully that's enough to beat a very determined Taipei side," added Reyes.
Gilas defeated Chinese Taipei in the first round, 90-83, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. The rematch between the two squads, which will air live on ESPN5, is on Friday at 7 P.M. at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium.
After two days, the national team will take on Australia at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan. Though the Boomers bring another serious challenge for Gilas - especially with two NBA players included in their lineup, Reyes said they're not worried about that matchup just yet.
"We're not even thinking about Australia at all. This is the one we need, we have to get first Taipei first so we're consciously not even mentioning or putting in the players' minds to worry or think about Australia," said Reyes. "This game (against Chinese Taipei) we need to be at our best for."