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With a median peak of 6-foot-4, the tallest Gilas Pilipinas Youth lineup in recent times may have a very good shot at a World Cup berth
MANILA, Philippines – Fielding one in all its tallest lineup in recent times, Gilas Pilipinas Youth vies for a World Cup berth when it plunges into motion within the FIBA Beneath-18 Asian Championship in Tehran, Iran beginning Sunday, August 21.
Regional powers Australia and New Zealand have determined to skip the match, making it a large open race the place the highest 4 finishers will declare spots within the 2023 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Hungary.
The Philippines can have a squad that won’t hand over loads on dimension, a typical downside of Gilas squads in any respect ranges of competitors.
In actual fact, this iteration of Gilas Youth boasts a median peak of 6-foot-4 – the tallest nationwide youth squad for the reason that 2018 batch of Kai Sotto, AJ Edu, Geo Chiu, Carl Tamayo, and Raven Cortez, who all stood no less than 6-foot-7.
That U18 crew completed fourth in Asia to clinch a spot within the 2019 World Cup.
Six gamers on this 12 months’s roster stand no less than 6-foot-5, with 4 of them over 6-foot-7.
Manning the frontline chores shall be La Salle Inexperienced Hills twin towers – 6-foot-8 Seven Gagate and 6-foot-7 Manuel Luis Pablo – together with 6-foot-8 Kobe Demisana of UPIS, and Ateneo’s Mason Amos, a extremely touted 6-foot-7 stretch massive man.
Two standouts from Gilas U16 – Ateneo’s 6-foot-5 energy ahead Kristian Porter and Ateneo de Cebu’s 5-foot-9 playmaker Jared Bahay – shall be transitioning to U18 duties.
Bahay, the one one within the squad who stands beneath 6-foot-1, impressed within the FIBA U16 Asian Championship in Doha final June.
Anticipated to supply backcourt stability and management shall be San Beda Crimson Cubs staff captain and level guard Prince Ray Alao, in addition to 6-foot-4 Ateneo-commit Kyle Gamber from Polytech Excessive College within the US.
The staff will even have a wing corps that’s prolonged with 6-foot-4 James Nacua of San Beda, 6-foot-4 Joshua Coronel of La Salle Inexperienced Hills, and a pair of incoming La Salle recruits from overseas – 6-foot-4 Filipino-Australian Jared Abadam and 6-foot-5 LA Andres from Dubai.
New format
The Philippines will play three straight days in pool play in opposition to groups they’ve the peak benefit over – Syria on August 21, Qatar on August 22, and Chinese language Taipei on August 23.
If Gilas advances, it would nonetheless deal with historically robust groups from China, South Korea, and Chinese language Taipei, even with defending champion Australia and final version’s runner-up New Zealand not seeing motion this 12 months.
Mentored by Josh Reyes, the younger Nationals not solely want to brush the preliminary rounds, however in addition they should win by sizable margins.
With solely 10 collaborating groups divided into three teams, FIBA determined to make the most of a brand new format the place the eight groups that make previous the preliminaries shall be assigned to completely different pots.
The cumulative rankings among the many three teams shall be used to find out which pot a staff shall be positioned in, from which the draw for the knockout quarterfinals shall be decided.
A staff’s win-loss file within the preliminaries, head-to-head outcomes, factors distinction, and factors scored would be the foundation of the cumulative rankings.
Japan and Lebanon could also be tipped as favorites as the 2 international locations just lately emerged as severe continental contenders in each the senior and junior ranges.
Japan completed second to Australia within the FIBA U16 Asia Championship final June, whereas Lebanon completed fourth after dropping the battle for bronze to New Zealand.
FIBA U16 Asia MVP Yuto Kawashima, a 6-foot-7 energy ahead, will banner Japan’s U18 staff.
With a median peak of 6-foot-5, host nation Iran shall be parading one of many tallest lineups within the discipline because it seeks to defend dwelling turf.
India is one other staff that has invested in its youth program as evidenced by its fifth-place end within the FIBA U16 Asia.
Kushal Singh, a 6-foot-5 energy ahead named to the FIBA U16 Asia All Match Crew, shall be a part of the Indian lineup in Tehran. – Rappler.com
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