source: www.interaksyon.com
FIBA
Asia secretary-general Hagop Khajirian ranked the Philippines as one of the top
five teams for the regions top cage competition, which the countryn will host
in August.
But
the Lebanese official qualified his comment by saying that SMART-Gilas
Pilipinas will have to field its best lineup for the FIBA Asia Championship
slated for August 1 to 11.
Khajirian
named China, South Korea, Iran, Lebanon and the Philippines as the countries
that have strong chances for the top three slots in the tournament, which come
with tickets to the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.
“I’m
judging on the record in the past decade,” said Khajirian on Monday in a press
event arranged by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas at the SM Mall of Asia
Arena.
“The
Philippines reached the quarterfinals and the semifinals of the last two FIBA
Asia. These five countries will be my favorites and maybe Jordan. But sometimes
we witness some surprises.”
Powerade
Team Pilipinas coached by Yeng Guiao finished eighth in Tianjin, China in 2009,
while SMART-Gilas coached by Rajko Toroman was fourth in Wuhan in 2011.
The
Powerade squad was bannered by top professional players, but did not feature a
naturalized reinforcement. The 2011 edition of SMART-Gilas, meanwhile, include
a mix of college and professional players along with center Marcus Douthit.
“We
never saw a Philippine team in full. The best players, unfortunately, only some
of them joined. I hope in this event will be different,” said Khajirian.
“I
hope you get prepared for this Championship with your full squad.”
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