GILAS Pilipinas departs for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in search for an elusive gold in the FIBA Asia Cup.
Coach Tim Cone, team manager Alfrancis Chua, and the rest of the national team leaves Manila late Wednesday night for the 10-hour trip to the Middle East a few hours after conducting its last practice at home.
But prior to leaving, Cone made known what exactly the goal of the national team is.
"Right now, our goal is certainly to win a gold medal. We'll do what we can to get there," he said shortly after Gilas defeated the visiting Macau Black Bears in their friendly Monday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Philippines won the gold in the meet five times, the last of which came during the 1985 edition held in Kuala Lumpur where the country was represented by Northern Consolidated.
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Twice, Gilas came close at regaining the championship, but settled for a runner up finishes in 2013 (Manila) and 2015 (Changsha), respectively.
Giving Gilas a good shot at achieving its goal is the presence of June Mar Fajardo and Calvin Oftana, who joined the team despite nursing separate injuries which they suffered during the Philippine Cup playoffs.
Of the two, Oftana's case was uncertain as he still nurses a sprain in both his ankles, though nonetheless, the TNT forward opted to travel and join Gilas in the war at the dessert.
The Filipinos' arrival comes a week before the tournament kicks off in which they are bracketed with Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, and Iraq in Group D, where only the top three teams will advance in the knockout stage.
They make their debut against Chinese Taipei on August 5 (Saudi Arabia time) at the King Abdullah Sports City, followed by New Zealand (August 7), and Iraq (August 9).
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Aside from Fajardo and Oftana, others comprising the 12-man team are naturalized player Justin Brownlee, Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo, Japeth Aguilar, Chris Newsome, CJ Perez, Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Carl Tamayo, and Kevin Quiambao.(RG)
