Chot Reyes and Gilas Pilipinas aiming high and putting in the work for Asian Qualifiers

MANILA (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - Gilas Pilipinas have been together for a handful of days, but coach Chot Reyes has made sure they are maximizing every single minute.

Assembled on 3 November, the latest iteration of the Philippines national team have been hard at work, training for as many as two sessions a day.

"We've had three straight days of two-a-day practices, so we're very happy about the preparations'" Reyes recently told local media. "We have some injuries, but otherwise we're fine."

Reyes remembers how earlier this year, his team was able to train together for two weeks ahead of the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 in Beirut, Lebanon, where they finished outside of the top four for the first time since 2009.

"I thought we played very well in Beirut, given the limited practice time and unavailability of players," Reyes explained. "If Australia and New Zealand were not around, our game against Korea would've been a Semi-Finals match, and maybe we would've at least been playing for bronze."

He knows things are stacked a little differently for the Asian Qualifiers, where the Filipinos are in the same group as Japan, Chinese Taipei and FIBA Asia Cup 2017 champions Australia.

After the first three Asian Qualifiers windows, only the top three teams of the group will move on to the next round and stay alive for a spot at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China. This means that the Philippines' two games in this month's window against Japan and Chinese Taipei are crucial. Reyes knows that if they lose even one game in this initial set, the Filipinos will have their backs against the wall already, and for someone who has reached the world stage, that will not be good enough as he is aiming high and has his eyes set even beyond 2019.

"The goal is clear - a ticket to the 2020 Olympics," he said. "That is why we will be competitive versus both Japan and Chinese Taipei."

Being competitive is one thing, but winning is something entirely different. That's why Reyes has made sure to have as many of the Philippines' best talents on board for the Asian Qualifiers, including reigning 4-time PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo, second overall PBA Draft 2017 pick Kiefer Ravena and the prolific guard duo of Terrence Romeo and Jayson Castro. Naturalized player Andray Blatche is set to arrive on 13 November as well, making his enviable size and skill-set available to the Philippine cause.

"It's very important that we get these first two," Reyes said. "We cannot look past anybody - our entire focus right now is on Japan, and then after that we can think of Chinese Taipei."

Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes pleased with the preparation of the 16-man pool for the first window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. @News5AKSYON pic.twitter.com/ZY7R65HUl6

— Fraulein Olavario (@frauey) November 8, 2017

Ever the forward-looking tactician, though, Reyes is hoping that in the near future, he can continue adding more of the country's brightest young stars to the senior Gilas pool in an effort to establish continuity of the program.

"If you are going to have continued success on the international stage, we have to make sure that we have players that are part of the comprehensive program from the beginning," Reyes told Spin.ph. "Even now, we are already looking at the youth team players, making them play within the system, so six, seven, eight years from now, they will have taken advantage of that longevity."

All these efforts, Reyes believes, should help culminate in more regular appearances at the world level for the Philippines, which slipped to #30 overall in the most recent Nike-FIBA World Rankings.

It all begins with the Asian Qualifiers this month, where, again, the Philippines are scrambling, cramming and hoping to come out guns blazing.

The Philippines first travel to Tokyo on 24 November to play Japan at the Komazawa Gymnasium and then host Chinese Taipei on 27 November at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

FIBA