MVP Cup serves as Gilas final test before FIBA Asia

MANILA, Philippines -- Despite the sudden pullout of the Lebanon national team last week, Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin said one can’t discount the competition that the Filipinos will face when the Master Game Face-MVP Cup kicks off on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The American-Kiwi coach, fresh from steering Gilas Pilipinas to a silver-medal finish in the William Jones Cup over the weekend, noted that the Wellington Saints, Chinese-Taipei and Talk ‘N Text are expected to provide the competition they need as they continue their build up for the Fiba-Asia men’s championships set to start two weeks from now.

“Leading up to next week after the MVP Cup where we will be going to camp, everybody here should not underestimate the quality of competition,” Baldwin told sports scribes during the press conference on Thursday at the Holiday Inn, Ortigas, Pasig City.

Baldwin explained that even if the Tropang Texters are coming in as last-minute replacements for the Lebanese, Gilas will still have their hands full with incoming PBA rookies Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario, the two top picks in the recent draft, reinforcing TNT.

“Talk ‘N Text is quite diminished by not having Jayson Castro, Ranidel de Ocampo and Matt (Ganuelas-Rosser) there, but they will play tough. And coach Jong (Uichico) and Nash (Racela) did a good job preparing them,” added the 57-year-old Gilas mentor.

Rosario, the 6-foot-6 athletic big man, will be playing for Talk ‘N Text in the MVP Cup, before returning to Gilas’ reserve.

Gilas will open the three-day pocket tournament against Talk ‘N Text at 7 p.m., preceding the 4:15 p.m. game between the Saints and the Taiwanese.

Naturalized player Andray Blatche will be back to play for Gilas starting Friday after skipping the national side’s Jones Cup stint.

The 6-foot-11 Blatche was forced to fly back to the United States to attend to the funeral of his uncle, as well as his ailing mother.

Baldwin said Blatche could hopefully catch up as he slowly re-integrates with the team’s system.

But the Gilas coach expects the Saints to give them a run for their money in their rematch on Saturday, noting that Wellington, now handled by two-time New Zealand-NBL champion Kevin Braswell.

“This guy sitting down here in front of me (referring to Braswell) and again, when you look at their (Saints) basketball playing pedigrees, we’re not gonna see a backcourt combo like the two guys you see here in this country,” he said, while citing Eric Devendorf and Braswell, both hard-nosed defenders and top guards in New Zealand, who were trained in Syracuse and Georgetown University, respectively.

Braswell, 36, sat out last week during the Saints’ 92-88 overtime loss to Gilas in the Jones Cup.

But the wide-bodied, 6-2 Braswell is expected to play against the Filipinos.

Gilas winds up its MVP Cup schedule against Chinese-Taipei on Sunday at 5 p.m.