Chot Reyes’ preparations for the World Cup have been hit by injuries. —DENISON REY A. DALUPANG
National coach Chot Reyes saw some positives and a lot of negatives and will ramp up preparations for Gilas Pilipinas in the second stage of their European sojourn with the Fiba (International Basketball Federation) World Cup just on the horizon.
The recent camp in Estonia yielded zero wins, counting an 89-85 loss to Finland on Wednesday and with the Nationals now headed to Lithuania, Reyes has identified precisely what the team needs to work on and then some.
“Right now, we’re just continuing, little by little, to get up our conditioning, which is No. 1,” Reyes said. “No. 2, what we’re all going to do defensively is fundamentals, technique, mechanics and making sure that everyone is on the same page in understanding our terminologies.”
“That’s why when we go to Lithuania, we will have two-a-day practices, precisely, because those are the goals that we’re trying to achieve,” added Reyes.
Reyes liked the way Gilas conducted himself against Finland, as well as the other tuneup with Estonia’s U-21 team even if the outcomes didn’t come the national team’s way.
Gilas is in for a bigger task in Lithuania, with at least four games during the last phase of the Europe camp which will be against Lithuanian clubs or youth teams.
“Those are going to be good tests for us,” said Reyes.
Conditioning will indeed be one of the priorities in Lithuania, with some key players still far from what Reyes wants to see come the World Cup.
Justin Brownlee failed to finish the Finland match due to cramps.
“There were so many positives in this game and definitely there were some negatives,” Reyes said.
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