Reyes sets World Cup goal

MANILA, Philippines — It’s a rough road ahead but Gilas youth coach Josh Reyes said the national team is determined to finish top four at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup in Amman starting today in order to qualify for the FIBA U19 World Cup in Lausanne next year.

“The goal is to qualify for the World Cup,” said Reyes, who landed in Amman with the team last Tuesday.  “Our expectation is to be able to look at ourselves at the end of this tournament and know that we didn’t leave anything on the table.”

The Philippines is bracketed in Group D with Indonesia, Jordan and New Zealand in the 16-team joust.  The top placers from four groups of four will book an outright ticket to the quarterfinals. Teams finishing second and third in each group will play-off for a quarterfinals slot in a crossover pairing where Group D faces Group C and Group A meets Group B. Reyes’ lineup lists 5-11 Kurt Velasquez, 6-3 Earl Medina, 6-8 Allen Perez, 5-10 Mark Esperanza, 6-5 Wilhelm Cabonilas, 6-5 Marc Burgos, 6-5 Charles Esteban, 6-2 Carl Manding, 6-5 Johnkurl Figueroa, 6-4 Drei Lorenzo, 5-10 Joaquin Ludovice and 5-11 Jericho Santos.  Velasquez was a late replacement for Andy Gemao who fractured his hand during a tune-up against Iran the other day. Another casualty is Kieffer Alas who hurt his knee, missed the recent FIBA U17 World Cup and would’ve played in this tournament. The Philippines opens its campaign against Indonesia today then engages Jordan tomorrow and New Zealand on Wednesday. 

 “We’re definitely taller and more athletic than our U17 team,” said Reyes. “Not as skilled but tougher and more hard-nosed defensively. We have a bit of length at the wings and will try to leverage that to make up for not having a really tall frontline. We’re at our best when playing fast. Our chemistry is still a work in progress. We’re trying to expedite that process here. Because of different high school schedules back home, we rarely had complete attendance at practice while our opponents are coming off training camps with Indonesia in Chicago, Jordan in Egypt and New Zealand in China.”

Reyes said the first order of business is to take care of Indonesia. “Then we battle host Jordan," he noted. "After that, we’ll try our best against New Zealand. We need to get at least top two to give ourselves a better chance, otherwise we would need to beat Australia in the quarters.”

The Philippines has qualified only twice in 16 FIBA U19 World Cups. The first was in 1979 with coach Turo Valenzona and players Hector Calma, Marte Saldana, Bay Cristobal, Joel Banal, JB Yango, Yoyoy Villamin, Joey Loyzaga, Jay Lucido, Badong Ramas, Conrad Pasco, Biboy Ravanes and Gary Vargas. The team placed 10th of 12 with a 2-6 record, winning over Peru and Egypt. The second was in 2019 with coach Sandy Arespacochaga and players Kai Sotto, AJ Edu, Gerry Abadiano, Migs Oczon, Dave Ildefonso, Terrence Fortea, Xyrus Torres, Rhayyan Amsali, James Spencer, Geo Chiu, Carl Tamayo and Dalph Panopio. The Philippines finished 14th of 16, overtaking Senegal and China.