Gilas faces acid test vs tall, quick Dutch

MANILA, Philippines -- After a long, tiring 22-hour trip from Manila and one practice session, Gilas Pilipinas finally plunges into action, tangling with the Netherlands in Day One of the Estonia pocket tournament in the Estonian capital city of Tallinn.

The Nationals test their mettle against the Dutch at 5 p.m. in Tallinn (10 p.m. in Manila) in Gilas’ very first game since opening their training camp at the Meralco Gym last Aug. 3.

Next up for Gilas is the home team at 8 p.m. tomorrow (1 a.m. Aug. 22 in Manila) then Iceland at the close of the three-day, four-nation meet Saturday.

Sports5.ph showcases the Gilas-Netherlands match at 10:30 p.m. Thursday night, the Gilas-Estonia tiff at 1 a.m. Saturday and the Gilas-Iceland tussle at 10:30 p.m. also on Saturday.

Over TV5, the Gilas-Netherlands setto will be shown at 4:15 p.m. Friday, the Gilas-Estonia faceoff at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and the Gilas-Iceland duel at 4:15 p.m. Monday.

Arriving in Tallinn Tuesday afternoon, Gilas coach Tab Baldwin ordered a one-hour gym booking later in the day only for those who wanted to take a sweat.

Their first official practice in Estonia was set at 7 p.m. Wednesday (Estonia time).

Then they finally have their taste of real action against the Dutch team that is set to make a FIBA EuroBasket comeback after 26 long years of absence.

The Netherlands, with 15 EuroBasket appearances and one World Cup stint, will showcase 6-foot-11 centers Roeland Schaftenaar, Nicolas de Jong and Henk Norel with guards Yannick Franke, Leon Williams, Worthy de Jong, Charlon Kloof and forwards Mohamed Kherrazi, Ralf de Pagter, Kees Akerboom and Robin Smeulders.

Norel plays for CAI Zaragoza in the Spanish league, Smeulders is a mainstay in the German league, De Jong competes in France, two Dutch players strut their stuffs in the Greek league and the rest in their home league.

Toon Van Helfteren calls the shots for the Dutch, assisted by Sam Jones and Peter van Noord.

In their lone World Cup appearance in 1986, the Dutch placed 14th with a 2-3 win-loss record.

In their 15 EuroBasket stints, the Netherlands set a best finish of fifth in 1949.

The Dutch last competed in the EuroBasket in 1989 before plunging into long mediocre period.