Basketball
Tough draw as Gilas Pilipinas bracketed with France, Canada in FIBA Olympic Qualifier
InterAksyon.com · Wednesday, January 27, 2016 · 2:14 am The Philippine national men’s basketball team drew some tough luck after finding themselves grouped with powerhouse squads in the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila in July.
The tournament draw was conducted in FIBA’s House of Basketball in Switzerland on early Wednesday morning in the Philippines.
Gilas Pilipinas is going to face former European champions France, expected to be led by NBA players Tony Parker, Boris Diaw and Nicolas Batum, and Oceania runner-up New Zealand in Group B of the Manila tournament.
Teams that will also travel to the Philippines on July 4 to July 10 are Canada, which boasts of young NBA star Andrew Wiggins, Turkey and Senegal which are bracketed in Group A of the competition.
OQT MANILAGroup ATurkeySenegalCanadaGroup BFranceNew ZealandPhilippinesEach group will play in a round-robin basis, with the top two advancing to the knockout stages.
Matches will be played at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Filipinos are aiming to win the tournament to advance to the 2016 Rio Olympics, a stage the country hasn’t reached for the past 44 years.
Post Merge: April 04, 2016, 04:38:22 PM
LOOK | Here’s what Gilas will wear at Manila Olympic QualifierInterAksyon.com · Friday, March 18, 2016 · 9:39 pm 
Photo by Jacques Slade for kicksonfire.com
The Philippine national men’s basketball team will be wearing these kits in their quest to clinch a ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics during the Manila Qualifying Tournament slated this July.
The most noticeable difference in this new Gilas Pilipinas uniform is the new color of the jersey number and “Pilipinas” text in front.
Also, the new jerseys also have a cool feature: according to kicksonfire.com, the name and number on the uniforms “will actually appear and disappear based on how the light bends respective to the athlete.”
The new Gilas Pilipinas kit was unveiled along with other national team jerseys during the Nike Innovation Summit in New York this week.
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Gilas coach Baldwin believes Slaughter will see Fajardo-like development with international experienceRey Joble, InterAksyon.com · Friday, March 18, 2016 · 2:55 pm 
When June Mar Fajardo first joined the Philippine national men’s basketball program, the 6-foot-10 center was only just scratching the surface of his potential.
Since then, he has become the country’s most dominant player, winning two consecutive PBA MVP awards while helping lead his San Miguel team to three championships in the past four conferences.
Now that Greg Slaughter, Fajardo’s long-time rival in the collegiate ranks, is joining the team as well, basketball fans are hoping for a similar kind of leap for the 7-footer.
“Wait until the Olympic qualifier and I think he will be, but he’s part of the team. He gets out there and works in the games. I think Greg is an intelligent guy. He will learn,” Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin told InterAksyon.com in an interview.
Baldwin believes that Slaughter, who has had little trouble imposing his will against smaller opposition in the Philippines, will need to think out of the box if he is to fulfill his potential.
“He has to learn to play the game less like a real big man and more like a basketball player. In the Philippines, you’ll get away when being real big. You are real big because that’s enough. He’s got very good skills. He could score,” Baldwin said.
“But on the next level, he’s going to find out speed, quickness, are gonna be against him. He’ll have to figure out ways to get to his skillset when he’s got super talented, super quick, super long defensive players in front of him.”
Baldwin, who came in as a consultant for the Gilas program three years ago, has seen the development of Fajardo and the American-Kiwi coach would not be surprised to see Slaughter make his own strides.
“That’s what June Mar has taken steps to learn. I think Greg will do the same,” added Baldwin.
Post Merge: April 05, 2016, 06:52:08 PM
Gilas coaches now starting to scout Manila Olympic Qualifier rivals France, New ZealandRey Joble, InterAksyon.com · Wednesday, March 23, 2016 · 7:29 pm The FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila may still be four months away but the Philippine national men’s basketball team coaching staff have begun doing its homework of scouting Gilas Pilipinas’ heavyweight opposition.
Head coach Tab Baldwin said he and his assistants have already started studying the games of Tony Parker-led France and FIBA Oceania runner-up New Zealand, teams which they will face in Group B of the competition.
“(Assistant) coach Josh (Reyes) put in my pocket France’s 2015 Euro Basket games and our game in France in 2014. So these are the things we’ll start to get into a little bit more deeply. I love it,” Baldwin told sportswriters.
“It’s gonna give me a chance to sit down and watch my opponents and become intimate with my opponent and that’s what I want to do. Then I can help the players better to prepare themselves to those games.”
France is expected to come to Manila parading its lineup loaded with NBA players. Aside from Parker, members of the squad include Nicolas Batum of the Charlotte Hornets, Joffrey Lauvergne of the Denver Nuggets, Evan Fournier of the Orlando Magic, Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz and Boris Diaw, Parker’s teammate at the San Antonio Spurs.
‘I know most of these guys’
Unlike France, New Zealand won’t be having any NBA player after Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams begged off. He cited his commitment with his NBA team, contending for a title, as his reason to skip national team duty.
Baldwin, himself a former long-time coach of the Tall Blacks, said the absence of Adams is a big blow for New Zealand.
“I’ve seen the first comment in the New Zealand media that has become a little bit critical of that, the reason why only Steven knows that. He’s been the best rim protector of the squad,” said Baldwin who reiterated that the squad still has many weapons.
“They will play the style of basketball they’ve been playing for the last few years, which is a lot of activity, a lot of movement, a lot of speed. Much more perimeter oriented with the likes of Corey Webster. It changes the way of our preparation for them.”
Despite his familiarity with New Zealand basketball, Baldwin said that there are still many things he has to know about the Tall Blacks.
“I need to do a lot of work there as well (New Zealand). I know most of the guys, I know the coaches very well. But I have to see their games, see their style of play and see how the players have developed the last couple of years when I haven’t seen them. So, there’s plenty of work to do, but there are lots of time for that,” he added.
The Olympic qualifying tournament will be a tough competition for Gilas Pilipinas national team as the country tries to make its way back to the Olympics for the first time since 1972.
Still, Baldwin likes the team’s chances.
“We have a fighter’s chance. We’re in the ring. It was hard to get there. We’re happy to get there,” Baldwin said.
“We don’t think for one second that this is France’s tournament or Turkey’s tournament or Canada’s tournament. They’ve got to get through us, around us, over us, or something. They’re gonna have to do one of those and we’re not gonna move out of the way. We’re not gonna stand in front of them to lose. When that time comes, we’ll take our chance and play as hard as we can.”
Post Merge: April 05, 2016, 06:54:51 PM
Gilas has target date for Andray Blatche’s return: May 15 the latest, says team manager Butch AntonioRey Joble, InterAksyon.com · Tuesday, March 29, 2016 · 3:07 am 
FIBA photo
With only minor details to be ironed out in his latest deal, naturalized player Andray Blatche is expected to re-join the Philippine national men’s basketball team in the not-so-distant future, with a target date already set.
Gilas Pilipinas team manager Butch Antonio confirmed this development during Monday’s training at the Meralco gym.
“Right now, the latest that we’re looking at is May 15,” Antonio told sportswriters. “That’s based on our initial discussion with Coach Tab (Baldwin). But that can change and Andray knows that.”
“Kasi May 20 is the last day of the PBA and May 15 is a good cut-off. He’ll be here before the whole team is complete.”
Blatche, who helped lead Gilas to a runner-up finish in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship, will be coming off a stint in China and, according to Antonio, his camp is close to agreeing to terms on the new contract for the former Brooklyn Nets center, who inked the richest deal in the history of the Chinese Basketball Association.
“Everything seems positive naman. We’ve been negotiating, going back and forth the past week. All I know, for sure, is Andray wants to play. His handlers were here last week and we spoke with them on the final deal,” said Antonio.
“I hope the document will be sent kahit via email tonight or tomorrow. They just have to work on some things on their end, amongst themselves. But as far as Gilas is concerned I think 99-percent or 99.9. Andyan na yan.”
Antonio didn’t divulge the exact details of the contract but revealed that one of the conditions would be to make sure Blatche joins the team in top condition.
“That’s also a concern we put on the table. They know about it,” said Antonio, who was given assurance that Blatche will come here in shape as opposed to last year where he came in 40 pounds overweight and needed to take drastic measures just to trim down.
This time, Blatche’s handlers intend to hire a trainer in the United States to make sure he comes in better shape.
“They said they want to get a trainer as early as possible to work with him. Andray knows there were questions to the state of his physical condition the last time he was here,” added Antonio.
