Naniniwala si Gilas Pilipinas head coach Yeng Guiao na makabubuti para sa Philippine basketball ang pagharap nila sa Adelaide 36ers sa dalawang tune-up games bago ang FIBA World Cup.
Ang pagharap na ito ng Gilas sa isang Australian team ay mahigit isang taon matapos ang nangyaring rambulan ng Pilipinas at Boomers.
Ayon kay Guiao, ang kanilang friendlies bukas at sa araw ng Linggo ay makakatulong upang maka-move on na ang dalawang panig sa insidente.
“This was really something I thought would be good for Philippine basketball,” wika ni Guiao.
“We wanted to erase some of the memories of the past and replace them with good memories, and at the same time, renew our friendship and our goodwill with Australian basketball.”
Maliban dito, sinabi ni Guiao na magandang pagkakataon ang kanilang pagharap sa 36ers sapagkat isa ang nasabing team sa magagaling na koponan sa National Basketball League ng Australia, na mayroong apat na championships.
“We also know that they play high-quality, good basketball. [They are] world-class,” ani Guiao.
“That is why we also wanted to play them because we understand that this is going to be a big help towards our preparations.”
Samantala, sa panig naman ni 36ers head coach Joey Wright, tiniyak nito na hindi na mauulit ang naganap na girian sa pagitan ng dalawang teams.
“We wanted to come over here and show them that we can play a game here and we’ll be treated well – we have been treated exceptionally – and nothing like that will happen. It’s just one incident,” anang coach.
Sinabi ni Wright, tutulungan nila ang Gilas na maging mas malakas na team bilang paghahanda para sa World Cup sa China.
“We’re here to try to help them get better. We expect them to be passionate and play great basketball. We’ll try to get out there and work on some things ourselves.”
