Gilas heats up for FIBA-Asia
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 27 Jun 2013
MANILA (PNA) -- Gilas-Pilipinas entered the toughest phase of its training program yesterday with a convincing 94-74 shellacking of Meralco at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Yesterday?s encounter with the Japan-bound Bolts actually marked the Nationals? revised build up regimen that will see them practice twice-a-day and, hopefully, depending on the availability of opponents, avail themselves of playing the needed tune up matches.
In-between those morning and evening practice sessions, head coach Chot Reyes and his assistants have also included two or three times-a-week physical conditioning sessions of lifting weights, running and other forms of exercise aimed at improving their body strength, endurance, flexibility and agility.
Weight sessions, according to conditioning in-charge Dexter Aseron, who is also tasked the same job at the Talk ?N Text ballclub, will be in the twice or thrice-a-day frequency which started last Monday at the Moro Lorenzo Gym inside the Ateneo compound.
?Depende sa kondisyon ng player kung dalawa ot tatlong beses magwe-weight,? Aseron told this writer Tuesday night during the Nationals? practice at Araneta. ?There are players who are coming from previous injuries and still in the process of complete recovery, so hindi sila dapat biglaing magbuhat ng mabigat.?
?Meron namang pagod pa dahil nasagad sa ensayo noong nakaraan gabi kaya medyo alalay din ang pagtrato sa kanila,? Aseron, a physical therapist graduate at the University of Santo Tomas, added. ?Malapit na ang FIBA-Asia at iniiwasan din ni coach na magkroon pa ng injury at this stage of preparations.?
Displaying the gains of a month?s being together that saw them attend a training camp in Lithuania, coach Reyes? Nationals never gave the undermanned Bolts a room to unleash a serious attack leading all the way from the opening buzzer on
While the game was only scrimmage of sort, it didn?t stop Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio from heaping praises on Gilas? overall performance.
?They (Gilas) played well,? Gregorio assessed. ?They were sharp on offense and solid in defense. Gary (David) was fantastic from outside, while their ?Bigs?, Marcus (Douthit), Junmar (Fajardo and Japeth (Aguilar)_ were unstoppable inside the paint.?
?Maganda. Hindi masyadong intense ang game, pero meron nang linaw na nakikita what kind of a team we are forming,? team manager Butch said. ?If the boys continue to improve, I think they can give a good account of themselves in the FIBA-Asia championship. Lahat maganda nilaro. ?
The Bolts, made up of old hands Mac-mac Cardona, Mark Borboran, Josh Vanlandingham, Chris Timberlake and Carlos Sharma and reinforced by import Chris Blake and cadet players Garvo Lanete, Kevin Alas and Jake Pascual, leave today for Japan where they will play a three-game exhibition series., two in Sendai and one in Tokyo.
They will stay in that country until July 1 on invitation of the Japan Basketball Association coursed through the Samahang Basketbol Ng Pilipinas. The three-game series is for the benefit of victims of earthquake that hit the country early this year.
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