Gilas sa homecourt huhugot ng lakas

MANILA, Philippines – Ang pagkakaroon ng homecourt advantage ang magpapalakas sa tsansa ng Gilas Pilipinas na makamit ang isa sa tatlong tiket para sa 2016 Olympic Games.

Ito ang pahayag ni PBA winningest coach Tim Cone ng Barangay Ginebra San Miguel kasabay ng paghikayat sa mga Filipino fans na suportahan ang kampanya ng Nationals sa Olympic Qualifying Tournament sa Hulyo 4-10 sa Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena.

“The homecourt advantage is huge,” sabi ni Cone. “At the FIBA Asia Championships in 2013, we got a big lift from the crowd when we beat South Korea in the semifinals.  It was great coaching by Chot (Reyes) but the fans also helped by cheering for Gilas from the start.”

“When we host the Olympic qualifiers, maybe we’ll get some home cooking.  Our players are used to the venue conditions.  They’re familiar with the rims.  I’m not suggesting we do like the Boston Celtics (during the Red Auerbach era) when they shut off the air-conditioning and the hot water in the opposing team’s locker rooms. But that gives you an idea of what a host can do,” dagdag pa ng two-time PBA Grand Slam champion mentor.

Napili ang Pilipinas na maging host ng isa sa tatlong qualifying tournament ng FIBA sa isang pulong  ng Exe­cutive Committee sa Mies, Geneva.

Ang dalawa pa ay ang Turin (Italy) at Belgrade (Serbia). Dahil ang Pilipinas, Italy at Serbia ay kasama sa 15 seeds sa tatlong tournaments, tatlo pang bansa ang idinagdag sa kompetisyon.

Ito ay ang Latvia, Croatia at Turkey.

Maaari sanang nakasama ang pang-limang FIBA Asia finisher na Lebanon ngunit nagdesisyon ang FIBA na isali ang Turkey.

 “Lebanon is currently not in good standing with FIBA Asia,” sabi ni FIBA director of communications Patrick Koller.

“Therefore, the FIBA Executive Committee used its right to choose a replacement and in line with the FIBA world rankings and the final standings of the 2015 continental championships, decided to extend an invitation to Turkey,” dagdag pa ni Koller.

 Sa 2015 Eurobasket, tumapos ang Turkey sa No. 14 sa ilalim ng Israel, Poland, Slovenia at Belgium.

Ngunit pinili ng FIBA ang Turkey dahil ito ay ranked No. 8 sa mundo.

Nasuspinde naman ng FIBA ang Lebanon dahil sa judicial at political issues noong July 2013 ngunit ibinalik noong Mayo ng 2015. Ang Lebanon ay No. 43 sa mundo.