NO REST FOR GILAS
Members of the Gilas Pilipinas gather at center court in a gymnasium here in Cebu as they continue their practices for the upcoming Fiba Asia Championships later this month. Team officials are keen on keeping their activities as private as possible to give the team the necessary time and space to focus on their preparations.
(Contributed)
The locales may have changed but the mission remains the same for the Gilas Pilipinas as they immediately went to work shortly after landing here in the Queen City of the South for their final training camp before the Fiba Asia Championship in Changsha, China.
The team arrived at the Mactan Cebu International Airport at 12:30 p.m. then went straight to their hotel in Lapu-Lapu City for lunch and a brief rest before moving out once again for their 5 p.m. practice session at a gym in the same city.
Security surrounding the squad has been tight from the get-go, as the team’s top brass seeks to keep the players and coaches as secluded as possible, away from distractions to give them time and space to focus on the task at hand – to get in peak form for the Fiba Asia competition that dangles a spot to the 2016 Rio Olympics for the eventual gold medal winner.
Apart from a press conference that will be held after their morning practice today, no other public appearance has been scheduled for the Gilas Pilipinas here in the city.
According to a source who is privy to the team’s comings and goings, the Gilas will practice twice a day – first at midday and then another in the evening – each day until Friday. The same source also added that all sessions will be closed-door practices.
The team will also have a mini team-building session on Wednesday morning at one of the swanky resorts in Lapu-Lapu City.