Nakatuon na ang buong atensyon ng Gilas Pilipinas sa koponan ng Indonesia na makakaharap nila sa unang window ng FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
Matatandaang ipinagpaliban ng FIBA ang home game ng Pilipinas kontra sa Thailand na nakatakda sana sa Pebrero 20 dahil sa pangamba ukol sa coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Ayon kay Gilas interim head coach Mark Dickel, nabigyan daw ang national team ng karagdagang oras para mapag-aralan nang husto ang Indonesia at hindi nahahati ang kanilang atensyon.
“Obviously, we don’t have the first game now but just preparing for the second game. We get a couple of more days to prepare and go to Indonesia and figure a way to work it out,” wika ni Dickel.
Bagama’t inamin ni Dickel na dismayado ito na pinostpone ang pagtutuos nila ng Thailand, naiintindihan niya raw ang pasya lalo pa’t prayoridad ang kaligtasan ng mga manlalaro.
Obviously, disappointing because it would have been awesome to play a home game here in front of our fans. But it is what it is. We can’t control that. Just get ready to go over to Indonesia and find a way to play a good game and win,” anang coach.
Sinabi pa ng coach na hindi nila mamaliitin ang Indonesian squad, na minamando ngayon ng dating coach ng Gilas na si Rajko Toroman.
“They are well-coached, really well-structured, and really disciplined. For us, to a certain extent, it makes it a little bit easier for us to focus on what they are going to do,” ani Dickel.
Ipinagmalaki rin ni Dickel na malaki na ang naging improvement ng Pinoy players sa loob ng mahigit isang linggo nilang pagsasanay.
