GILAS Pilipinas coach Tim Cone does not expect their game against Thailand to be as easy as their rout of Bahrain two days ago.
“We need to break down their game. We hope we’ll have a better feel of Thailand than we did,” Cone said. “We gotta need to because Thailand’s a much stronger team than Bahrain.
“We gotta go up the level, we gotta continue to rise in our game because we’re gonna play a tougher opponent each time out,” he added.
The Filipino cagers try to make it 2-0 when they square off against the Thais today in Group C of the cage tilt of the 19th Asian Games at the Zhejiang University Zijingang Gymnasium in Hangzhou.
The game is set at 11 a.m., with the Philippines bidding to score an encore to an 89-61 drubbing of Bahrain last Tuesday and gain a much-needed boost ahead of its duel with Jordan, which will be led by PBA Governors’ Cup best import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, tomorrow.
The Thais’ own drive got off on the wrong foot after they absorbed a 63-97 shellacking at the hands of Jordan also last Tuesday.
Cone is hoping his squad could turn into one cohesive unit when it goes deep in its bid to rule the Asiad for the first time since 1962.
“I mean, from Bahrain to Thailand to Jordan, and perhaps to the next round, whether it be Korea or Japan or whoever,” Cone said.
“Hopefully, in the semis, maybe to the finals, we gotta continue to lift the level of our game, that’s important.”
Gilas is expected to draw strength anew from the likes of naturalized players Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame, reigning pro league MVP Scottie Thompson, June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, and Calvin Oftana.
Aside from former UCLA Bruin Tyler Lamb, 5-foot-8 guard Frederick Lish, Nattakarn Muangboon, Jakongmee Morgan, Naratip Boonserm, and Nakom Jaisanuk, will be counted upon by Thailand to deliver.
Gilas held a one and a half-hour practice yesterday.
“Jordan is a much, much, much better team than Thailand,” Cone said when asked to rate Gilas’ group phase foes.
Group A is composed of Iran, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. Hong Kong took the spot of Lebanon in Group B after the Lebanese withdrew from the tourney due to “injuries to their players.”
Chinese Taipei, Mongolia, and China complete Group B, while Group D has Japan, Indonesia, Qatar, and South Korea.
