Due to Jones Cup pullout Gilas scrambles for tough tune-ups

MANILA, Philippines - Smart Gilas hopes to play competitive games with powerhouse teams either in the United States, Europe or Australia, or invite a foreign squad for a series of tune-up games to fill the void in the national team’s buildup brought about by the withdrawal of Jones Cup invitations to the reigning champions.

“We’re considering all options. We’ve lost seven to eight games which we could have played in the Jones Cup. We need to get alternative games for our team,” Gilas team manager Butch Antonio told The STAR.

“We’ll send feelers. If we get positive response, we’ll take a look at it,” Antonio also said. “The idea is to play stronger teams, the stronger the better.”

He also said Gilas will inquire if there’s a summer league in the US it could play in.

Over at Malacañang, the government said it is working to normalize its relations with Taiwan and expressed surprised over the withdrawal of the invitation by the Jones Cup organizers to the Philippine national team.

“I did see that particular report...They’re attributing it to the incident that we have and we’re all working to resolve. As (Justice) Secretary (Leila) de Lima had said, we hope that the results of the investigation will lead to a resolution of the incident that we are being confronted with,” said Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte.

The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association said it could not guarantee the team’s safety, despite reports that hostility towards Filipinos has begun to fade.

Gilas may also consider the training regimen used by coach Tim Cone’s Philippine Centennial team in 1998, touring the US Midwest for a series of games against top collegiate teams including Iowa, Missouri, Missouri-Kansas City, Tulsa, Wichita and Minnesota.

Meanwhile, Gilas is set to play goodwill games with the Japanese national team in Tokyo before the Japanese leave for Taipei for the Jones Cup.

“If we can’t find a tourney anywhere, we can invite a foreign team over, then we play a series of tune-ups. We really need to play games that would approximate those we miss in the Jones Cup,” Antonio said.

 â€œ Leaving us out of the Jones Cup put our preparation in disarray,” said Antonio.

Concern on the safety of members of Gilas Pilipinas prompted the organizing Chinese Taipei Basketball Association last Monday to withdraw its invitation to the Philippine national team to defend its crown in the 2013 William Jones Cup in July.

The Jones Cup organizers informed Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas of their decision in a letter to SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan.

The Taipei cage federation cancelled its invitation on Gilas Pilipinas amid tension between the Philippines and Chinese Taipei over the death of a Taiwanese fisherman in disputed waters.

Meanwhile, PBA commissioner Chito Salud kept a positive outlook despite Gilas’ non-participation in the Jones Cup.

“Unfortunate as it is, we need to move forward. We need to stay strong. We need to stay focused,” said Salud. “Nothing has changed – we control our destiny.”

The Nationals were to defend the crown they won last year, ending a 14-year title-drought in the Taipei tournament traditionally serving as the tune-up tourney to FIBA Asia events.

The cream of the crop in the region, except China, competes in the Jones Cup.

“The Jones Cup is an important tournamnt because we get to play the teams competing in the Fiba Asia,” Reyes said.

The 2013 Jones Cup is slated in July, two weeks before the FIBA Asia Championship set Aug. 1-11 in Manila.

It is supposed to be Gilas’ only other international trip outside of its two-week Lithuanian training in June where the Nationals get to play six tune-up matches with Lithuanian pro teams.