FIBA ASIA CUP 2017 : GILAS PILIPINAS SWEEPS GROUP B AS MORE THAN 2000 FILIPINOS CHEER ON

Gilas Pilipinas went on to sweep Group A of the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 in Beirut, Lebanon by beating Qatar, 80 - 74. With June Mar Fajardo still injured and Christian Standhardinger also sitting out due to a bad case of stiff neck, the Philippines had to rely on the sweet shooting of Matthew Right who finished with 25 points which included 7 three pointers.

Calvin Abueva also slipped in the second quarter and was not able to come back, our big guys having early foul trouble and Terrence Romeo was also misfiring, Gilas Pilipinas was able to play good team ball and had great performances from Gabe Norwood and Carl Bryan Cruz.

But what made this win special is that more than 15 bus fulls of Filipinos came out to support the team and the stadium felt like homecourt for the team. It is really amazing how Filipinos support Gilas where ever they play. They also get a chance to meet their idols after the game.

More than 2,000 Filipinos in Beirut to meet the Gilas Pilipinas: https://t.co/dfQQEM8F7X 😵🇵🇭🎉 #FIBAAsiaCup2017 pic.twitter.com/wWKj5xlkSX

— FIBA (@FIBA) August 13, 2017

With this win, Gilas Pilipinas advances automatically to the the quarterfinals, joining other top teams from the other groups - Australia, New Zealand and Iran. They will be battling against the winner of the game tonight between Korea and Japan. Whoever wins will definitely be a challenge for Gilas since both Korea has been a constant antagonist of Gilas while Japan gave us a good fight in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championships.

With 3 days rest, the Filipinos will definitely prepare hard for the game on Wednesday. Surely, Standhardinger and Abueva will be back to play and all are playing for June Mar to be able to play as well.

Laban Pilipinas!

GILAS PILIPINAS: LINE UP FOR THE 2017 FIBA ASIA CUP REVEALED

The line up of the Gilas Pilipinas for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup 2017 has been revealed shortly after the deadline last Tuesday night. Coach Chot Reyes posted this tweet in his account :

12 men; 12 practices; hopefully for 12 days in Beirut #LabanPilipinasPuso pic.twitter.com/AIrfSKO2GV

— Chot Reyes (@coachot) July 25, 2017

The line up include Gilas veterans Calvin Abueva, Japeth Aguilar, June Mar Fajardo, Terrence Romeo, Raymond Almazan and reigning best point guard in Asia Jayson Castro. Making a comeback for Gilas is our defense specialist - Gabe Norwood.

Also making the line up are Gilas cadets from the SEABA champion team RR Pogoy, Matthew Wright and Jio Jalalon. Making his first seniors mens team appearance is cadet Carl Bryan Cruz. Our naturalized player for this tournament is Fil-German Christian Standhardinger who impressed us in his Jones Cup performance.

Notably absent from the line up as compared to the SEABA team are Allein Maliksi, Troy Rosario and Andray Blatche, Troy will instead play with the remaining Gilas cadets in the Southeast Asian Games and try to retain the country's supremacy in the region. Blatche on the other hand said that there are multiple reasons on why the cannot join the team in Lebanon.

The FIBA Asia Cup will be on August 9 to 20, 2017 in Lebanon and games will be aired in TV% and Aksyon TV.