Gilas think tank to split chores in Asia Cup, SEAG

TAIPEI – The Gilas Pilipinas coaching staff splits chores in the FIBA Asia Cup and in the SEA Games, with head coach Chot Reyes taking the task in the Lebanon Asian meet while chief deputy Jong Uichico leads the think tank in the Kuala Lumpur conclave.

If Gilas Pilipinas doesn’t go deep in the knockout phase of the Asian joust, the Gilas program chief will be able to catch the Gilas cadets in their trip to Kuala Lumpur.

“Of course, we don’t want that (them flying home early from Lebanon),” said Reyes, expressing a great desire to go all the way to battle for the crown in the FIBA Asia Cup where the Philippines has been runner-up in its last two editions in Manila then in Changsha.

The reformatted Asia Cup that now features Oceania heavyweights Australia and New Zealand is set Aug. 8-20 while the SEA Games is slated Aug. 19-30.

Assistant coaches Josh Reyes and Ryan Betia back up the Gilas bench chieftain in Lebanon while Jimmy Alapag backstops Uichico in Lebanon.

Reyes feels a three-man brain trust in the Asia Cup is enough.

“It’s just one round among four teams (in the group play). Then there’s a rest in between the group play to the next round. Then there’s another rest day. Unlike here (in the Jones Cup) where you play nine games in nine days, so kailangan mong maraming involved,” said Reyes.

He said scouting reports for their first three games against China, Qatar and Iraq should be ready before they leave Manila.

Uichico is well aware of the SEAG competition and the competitors.

He was the winning coach in the 2009 Myanmar SEAG and he sat beside Reyes on the Gilas bench in the recent SEABA Championship at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.