SHOWTIME FOR GILAS: Philippine men’s hoop team begins stint in basketball’s grandest stage

What started as a pipe dream of competing against the world’s best is set to come to fruition today as the Philippine national men’s basketball team, nicknamed the “Gilas Pilipinas,” starts its bid in the Fiba World Cup in Sevilla, Spain.

The Gilas makes its debut in this quadrennial tournament against European powerhouse Croatia at 6 p.m. at the City Arena.

After over a year of preparations, the day of reckoning has finally come for the wards of national team head coach Chot Reyes as they face off against a Croatia side that boasts of former NBA player Roko Ukic and another ex-NBA draftee, the 6-foot-7 shooting guard Bojan Bogdanovic. Complementing the Croatian backcourt are six players who are 6-foot-10 and taller, emphasizing the tall odds that the Filipinos find themselves against.

But just like they showed in last year’s Fiba Asia Men’s Championships, where they showcased “puso” (heart) en route to placing second and earning a place in this competition, the Nationals are expected to give it their all for flag and country behind a veteran lineup that has a few additions to their firepower.

This includes 6-foot spitfire guard Paul Lee, who replaced the injured Larry Fonacier, and new naturalized player Andray Blatche, who takes the place of longtime reinforcement Marcus Douthit.

Cebuano big man June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Marc Pingris and Ranidel de Ocampo have been given the unenviable task of going up against the world’s giants down low while the guard rotation of Jimmy Alapag, Gabe Norwood, Jeff Chan, Jayson Castro, Gary David and LA Tenorio will be manning the perimeter duties.

After Croatia, the Gilas battle Greece tomorrow and then Argentina on Monday. They take on Puerto Rico on Wednesday before completing their group stage assignments with a match against Senegal on Thursday. Games will be aired live over TV 5.