Gilas off tonite to Melbourne

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas leaves for Australia tonight, three days ahead of its first major test in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers against the world No. 10 team on its home court at the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne Thursday.

Coach Chot Reyes and the whole Gilas delegation take a 12-hour trip to the Victoria state capital with a layover in Sydney, hoping to acclimatize early in time for the match against the Australian team for the lead in Group B play in the Asian “WC” eliminator.

The Nationals and the Boomers swept Japan and Chinese Taipei, respectively, in the first window of the WC qualifiers.

A surprise part of the Gilas delegation to Australia is former La Salle player Abu Tratter, among the players named by Reyes to the “23 for ‘23” pool.

At press time, the Gilas management and coaching staff were in their final meeting prior to their trip. Reyes told The STAR they would decide in the meeting the players making up the  final 12.

“Everyone in the pool has a chance to make the team,” Reyes said.

The Nationals fly back to Manila on Friday, two days ahead of their home game against Team Japan at the MOA Arena Sunday.

Andray Blatche, June Mar Fajardo, Jason Castro and Gabe Norwood are tipped to spearhead Gilas’ bids in both games.

Gilas is the underdog versus Australia but is fancied to repeat against Japan.

The Filipinos conquered the Japanese, 77-71, in Tokyo on Nov. 24 then subdued the Taiwanese, 90-83, at home at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Nov. 27.