WITH a record of five wins against three losses, Team Pilipinas will be raring to improve its standing in their upcoming home games on November 30 and December 3 against Kazakhstan and Iran, respectively.
Wins on both games will greatly boost their chances in securing a spot in the 2019 World Championships.
What are the prospects for Team Pilipinas in qualifying for the World Championships anew?
In terms of advancing, they are in a much better place than their bracket-mates, Iran and Japan.
Based from the schedules of the remaining qualifying windows, only the Dec 3 joust against Iran will be the tough assignment compared to their matchup against Kazakhstan (November 30 & February 2019) and Qatar (February 2019). While Iran will be facing Australia and Japan twice in their remaining qualifiers.
The best win-loss record we can have is 9-3, if we sweep the remaining four games, while Iran and Japan will only be able to get 8-4 at most given their remaining assignments all going through tougher competitions.
In terms of available players, Team Pilipinas coaching staff has the luxury of selecting and creating the most potent line-up for the qualifiers thus far. With June Mar Fajardo and Greg Slaughter recovered and ready for action and the players involved in the July debacle returning, including naturalized mainstay Andray Blatche, we can only surmise that this will be the tallest line-up we can be fielding since the inception of Gilas Pilipinas with Fajardo, Slaughter and Blatche playing together.
With the other aspects of qualifying seemingly in place, it is up to the coaching staff and the players to make the return trip to the World Championships a reality. It is very seldom that opportunities as this presents itself. It would be best for everyone to seize the opportunity. Schedule enough practices for everyone on the team to create chemistry and cohesiveness.
We have been preparing for these tournaments and by now, we should have at least learned that teams are not prepared overnight. Teams need time to adjust to playing styles and in-game tendencies to become capable and effective and maximize the individual skills of the players for a greater purpose.
As Team Pilipinas gets ready for its remaining games, we, basketball-loving fans, wait and hope for the best in making the 2019 World Championships dream happen. We can then again cheer for Team Pilipinas when it tests its mettle in the grandest basketball spectacle.