pisilinuxworld.org

Erik Spoelstra: Team USA is ‘ready’ for Fiba World Cup challenge

Miami Heat Filipino-American coach Erik Spoelstra during a basketball clinic conducted by USA Basketball. –ARNEL TACSON/INQUIRER.net

With three days left before the opening game of Team USA for the 2023 Fiba World Cup, assistant coach Erik Spoelstra believes that the team is ready for competition.

Grouped with Jordan, New Zealand and Greece in Group C, the 2023 USA Basketball Men’s National Team is complete, ready and willing to take on the challenge.

“We feel like we’re ready but we also understand how challenging it is,” bared Spoelstra during a basketball event hosted by USA Basketball in Taguig on Wednesday. FULL STORY

GILAS FINAL 12 FOR FIBA WORLD CUP

Gilas needs to be ‘on same page’ ahead of World Cup opener, says Scottie Thompson

Gilas Pilipinas guard Scottie Thompson.

Gilas Pilipinas will start its campaign in the Fiba World Cup on Friday and for Scottie Thompson, the Nationals need to be on the same page to get its desired outcome.

And despite coming from back-to-back losses in its last tuneup games, Thompson said that Gilas Pilipinas just needs to stay on course.

“There are still a lot of things to improve on our game. But the most important thing here is that we need to be on the same page on what we need to do as a team,” the 6-foot-1 Ginebra guard in the PBA said in a mix of English and Filipino. FULL STORY

Gilas Pilipinas braces for Karl-Anthony Towns, Dominican Republic

Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes after the Philippines’ training on Tuesday night.

Gilas Pilipinas spent much of its open practice on Tuesday with a particular opponent in mind: the Dominican Republic.

“[The] Dominican Republic, as you all know, beat Canada and Canada beat Spain. (The) Dominicans also fought Spain to a close match,” national coach Chot Reyes.

“As you see today, we spent the entire [session] just being ready for the Dominicans,” he went on. FULL STORY

Japeth Aguilar is Gilas Pilipinas team captain for Fiba World Cup

FILE–Japeth Aguilar. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Japeth Aguilar, the athletic Barangay Ginebra forward, will be skippering the Gilas Pilipinas squad that will compete in the Fiba World Cup.

National coach Chot Reyes made the announcement on Tuesday night when team practice at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City was finally opened to the press and some of the team’s corporate sponsors.

A veteran of two World Cups, Aguilar will be leading easily the tallest squad that assembled for the quadrennial tournament as he will be teaming up with Kai Sotto (7’3″), AJ Edu (6’10”), and June Mar Fajardo (also 6’10”). FULL STORY

Fiba World Cup: Bogdanovic-led Serbia looks to light up Manila

Serbia arrives in Manila for the Fiba World Cup.-MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Serbia was also among the teams that arrived in Manila on Tuesday for the 2023 Fiba World Cup.

Atlanta Hawks gunner Bogdan Bogdanovic headlines the Serbs, who are without two-time NBA MVP and newly-minted NBA champion Nikola Jokic.

Despite the absence of Jokic, Serbia still flaunts a formidable squad with former NBA player Nemanja Nedovic and Philadelphia 76er Felip Petrusev.

Scottie Thompson, with injury behind him, vows to give his best for Gilas in Fiba World Cup

FILE – Gilas Pilipinas guard Scottie Thompson takes a selfie with Filipino fans after the Philippines’ win over Jordan. Photo by Fiba

Fit-again Scottie Thompson is determined to make his fellow countrymen proud as Gilas Pilipinas defends its home court in the Fiba World Cup 2023 starting on Friday at Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan. 

After rejoining Gilas without restrictions last week following his recovery from a metacarpal fracture on his right hand, the reigning PBA Most Valuable Player is no longer thinking about his recent injury as he remained focused on his goal to contribute to the squad if he makes the final cut.

“Everything is good. [I’m] slowly getting back and of course, my hand is slowly getting better. It heals every day. And that’s a good thing and good news for me,” Thompson told Inquirer Sports in Filipino.

Fiba World Cup: ‘Ready’ Italy takes hot streak to Manila

Italy star Simone Fontecchio and the rest of the Azzurri arrive in Manila for the Fiba World Cup.—MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

World No. 10 Italy arrived in Manila on Tuesday afternoon in high spirits, thanks largely to a perfect run in its preparatory games geared toward the Fiba World Cup.

“We’re so happy to be here and you are all lovely in person,” coach Gianmarco Pozzecco told reporters at Naia Terminal 3 after a connecting flight from Hong Kong aboard Cathay Pacific CX 919.

The Azzurri are coming off a seven-game winning streak over teams like Greece, Serbia, China. Their latest was against New Zealand, 88-81, in the Fiba Solidarity Cup in Shenzhen, China on Monday.

In basketball-crazed Philippines, the Fiba World Cup will be a shining moment

FILE – Filipino boys play basketball in floodwaters from a swollen creek at a coastal village in Malabon, north of Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, July 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)

Considering that about 110 million people live in the Philippines, it’s not feasible to expect that they all would be basketball fans.

“But it’s close,” said Tim Cone, the country’s top professional coach.

And that might not be an understatement, either.

Fiba World Cup starts on Friday, spread out over three nations — the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. It’ll be centered in Manila, where the medal rounds will be held in early September, where the favored U.S. team will play all its games in the event and where fans have been waiting for years for this chance at seeing some of the game’s biggest names competing in their city.

Fiba World Cup team arrivals in Manila

Fiba World Cup Group D: Lithuania, Montenegro, Egypt, Mexico

Egypt’s Assem Marei, Mexico’s Gabriel Giron, Lithuania’s Jonas Valacunias and Montenegro’s Nikola Vučević. –MARLO CUETO/ART

Nothing personifies the word “colossal” much like Group D in the 2023 Fiba World Cup in Manila.

The Mall of Asia Arena will be home to several showdowns of tough centers with Lithuania, Montenegro, Egypt and Mexico.

With only two teams able to qualify for the next round of the much-anticipated tourney, it’s time to see who will star for the four teams competing in a physical pool.

Fiba World Cup Group C: USA, Greece, New Zealand, Jordan

New Zealand’s Flynn Cameron, USA’s Anthony Edwards, Greece’s Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Jordan’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. ART/MARLO CUETO

All eyes will be on Team USA and its collection of NBA talents when they make their 2023 Fiba World Cup debut on Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.

The United States, bannered by All-Star guard Anthony Edwards, finds itself slotted in a relatively light Group C with an ailing Greece side, New Zealand and Jordan.

Greece and Jordan open Group C play at 4 p.m. while the US battles New Zealand at 8:40 p.m.

Inquirer Sports took a deeper look at Group C in a series of previews for the first round of the group phase held in Manila.

Fiba World Cup Group B: Serbia, China, South Sudan, Puerto Rico

China’s Zhou Qi, Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic, South Sudan’s Nuni Omot and Puerto Rico’s Tremont Waters. –ART/MARLO CUETO

A perennial contender on the world stage, Serbia finds itself the favorite in Group B.

Competition in Group B, however, isn’t expected to be a cakewalk for Serbia, which will be without two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.

Joining Serbia, which made the finals in 2014, at Araneta Coliseum are China, Puerto Rico and South Sudan.

Puerto Rico and South Sudan open Group B play on Saturday.

Fiba World Cup Group A: Philippines, Angola, Italy, Dominican Republic

Italy’s Simone Fontecchio, Philippines’ Jordan Clarkson, Dominican Republics’ Karl Anthony Towns and Angola’s Bruno Fernando. –ART/MARLO CUETO

Gilas Pilipinas faces a tall order as it tries to qualify for the next round and chase an Olympic dream when it hosts Group A in the Fiba World Cup 2023 starting August 25.

Sixteen of the top 32 basketball teams are coming to Manila including the powerhouse team and favorite United States as the country hosts the World Cup for the first time since 1978. But Group A will be the most important pool for the Filipinos as they rally behind the national team, which is raring to advance to the next round.

Group A will kick off the global basketball spectacle at Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan, where the host country tries to break the highest attendance record in a Fiba World Cup game.

Inquirer Sports took a deeper look at Group A in a series of previews for the first round of the group stage held in Manila.

Fiba World Cup in Manila: schedule, tickets, how to watch live

Fiba World Cup in the Philippines begins on August 25. –ART/MARLO CUETO

Some of the best national teams in the world are descending on Manila as the basketball-crazy nation of the Philippines hosts the Fiba World Cup again after 45 years.

The World Cup opens on August 25 in three cities in Asia–Manila, Jakarta and Okinawa–starting with the group phase featuring 16 teams playing in several venues in Manila and nearby Bulacan.

Inquirer Sports has listed down all the basics if you plan on following the World Cup action in Manila.

Read Next

Don’t miss out on the latest news and information.