Team Pilipinas faces Malaysia

MANILA, Philippines – Powerade Team Pilipinas begins its quest for a berth in the World Championship in Islamabad, Turkey next year as it takes on Malaysia in the opener of the SEABA championship in Medan, Indonesia on June 6.

The Nationals’ games in the SEABA joust are down to four following the withdrawal of Thailand and Laos. They play host Indonesia on June 7, Singapore the next day and, barring any trouble, the final match on June 9.

A stint in the SEABA finale guarantees the RP team of a stint in the Fiba-Asia championship in Tianjin, China on August, which, in turn, serves as the Asian qualifier for the Turkey world meet.

The original SEABA schedule is June 6-10 with six competing teams figuring in a round-robin affair then the team with the best record automatically declared champion.

SEABA secretary general Dato Yeoh Choo Hock drew a new format on Thailand’s and Laos’ withdrawal.

“The change doesn’t really matter to us as we’re confident we have the advantage in the field in terms of talent, athleticism and the size,” RP coach Yeng Guiao told The STAR.

“Nakakahinayang lang we’re now playing one less game. For us, the more games we play internationally the better as we’re trying to develop the team’s bonding and chemistry,” Guiao added.

“We’re not trying to qualify in SEABA. We can do that easily. What we want to get in this trip is the bonding experience, the period of time the players bond together away from their mother teams. Based from the All-Star experience, it does a lot for their chemistry as a group.” - N. Beltran