Gilas looking forward to tough tune-ups vs Turkiye, Poland

MANILA, Philippines – With Gilas Pilipinas about to face Turkiye and Poland ahead of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT), head coach Tim Cone is expecting difficult friendly matches as their preparation ramps up. 

Gilas will be facing the two squads in exhibition matches a few days before they will be facing Latvia and Georgia in the OQT in Riga. 

The coach bared that he is anticipating difficult friendly matches against Turkiye and Poland, which are also preparing for their respective tourneys. 

“They’re gonna be a tough task for us. I think it’s great for our preparation for Latvia and Georgia and whoever we may meet in the qualifiers but it’s definitely gonna be a… experience for us and it’s gonna be a test and kinda measure what we have,” he said. 

“I love it. Poland's No. 15 in the world so they're gonna give us a good feel, and Turkiye’s No. 24 but they're much better if their NBA guys show up. I don't know if their NBA guys are gonna show up because they're not preparing for the OQT,” he added. 

“Poland's preparing for the OQT in Valencia. Turkiye is just preparing for the Euro qualifiers, so they may have the full team there. It should be a great indication by the time we get to Riga.” 

The Nationals on Monday won over the Taiwan Mustangs, 74-64, in an exhibition at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City. 

While it was a wire-to-wire affair for Gilas, the home team was unable to leave Taiwan completely behind. 

The Philippines led by as much as 17 points in the third quarter, but the Mustangs were able to cut the lead to as little as eight in the fourth frame. 

The team, however, would hold on and secure the victory. 

Cone acknowledged that the victory was hard, but it was necessary since it will help them prepare for much tougher competition. 

“This is exactly what we need, we need it to be hard. We didn't want it to be easy. If it's easy, it's not gonna help us. This is what's hard and we're happy it was hard,” Cone told reporters after the game. 

And while Gilas is not looking to win against Turkiye and Poland, the PBA’s most-titled tactician is hoping that improvements will be evident just in time for the qualifiers. 

“I hope to see us get better on both sides of the ball. You saw us, we didn't play as sharp as we wanted,” he said.