Based on initial scouting reports, the Philippines men's squad mentored by coach Yeng Guiao will be facing a tall, physical Kazakhstan side when the Filipinos make their debut in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia on August 16.
Former PBA head coach Ryan Gregorio and current Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia, who will both serve as deputies for Guiao, said they've been studying game tapes of the Kazakhs since learning that the Philippines will be in Group D with powerhouse China.
"They (Kazakhs) are big, physical and they run the floor pretty good. They also have a couple of good shooters," Garcia told ESPN5, who along with the rest of the Philippines team left Manila on Sunday evening to fly to Jakarta.
But the ROS head coach explained that until they see the final lineup of Kazakhstan, they really can't say what else the Central Asian country is capable of doing.
Garcia though noted that Kazakhstan has been using several players in its past games in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, a reason why they are still finalizing their scouting report.
"There were past games they had that they played a different set of players. Even their coach was different so now, we are closely monitoring this," Garcia said.
But one thing seems sure: The national squad will be expecting a physical game against Kazakhstan.
"They're very physical, they definitely have length, they are willing to bang bodies inside and they have good inside players and respectable shooting from outside also," said Gregorio, who won three PBA titles in a coaching career that spanned 17 years, from 1997 to 2014.
"We still need to scout them extensively so we're getting tapes now. And once we see the final lineup, then we can finalzie our game plan," he added.
As far as the game against China, Gregorio said that will have to wait.
"Our instruction from coach Yeng is to focus on Kazakhstan first and put our energy and our intelligence to find ways to stop them," shared the former Meralco coach.