Rest, Fajardo's performance are crucial for Asian Games campaign says Norwood
Gilas Pilipinas has been on a whirlwind tour for the past couple of months in preparation for both the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain and the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
Along the way, the members of the team all had to endure different injuries and they barely had the time to recover before they were on the road again. Gilas travelled to Miami and to many parts of Europe before settling in Seville, Spain.
After a short break in the Philippines, they’ll be flying out on September 20 for Korea where they will compete against the best basketball teams in Asia.
According to Gabe Norwood, rest and the performance of big man June Mar Fajardo are two of the main factors for their upcoming drive for gold.
“The key is really keeping ourselves healthy,” Norwood said after the last practice of Gilas at the Meralco Gym, Friday evening. “We’ve been travelling all over and when we get to Korea the temperature is going to be different, the food is going to be different so we have to adjust to all of that while making sure that we get the right balance of rest and practice.”
Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes still has not released the official lineup for the team, as some of their members are still nursing injuries. The only thing for sure is that Andray Blatche will not suit up for the Philippines and that he’ll be replaced by Marcus Douthit.
“Of course it’s big for us to lose such a talented 6-foot-9 guy in Andray but we have a 6-foot-10 replacement who we already played with,” Norwood added. “Even back last year, our offense really did not revolve around dumping the ball to Marcus at the post. Our system has always been about movement but his ability to defend post players like [Hamed] Haddadi will be crucial for us.”
Norwood added that another big factor into their upcoming Asian Games campaign is the development of Fajardo.
“Last year, June Mar was still feeling out how it was to compete in the international level but the way he ended the World Cup showed that he’s ready to play a bigger role in our team,” Norwood explained.
Gilas Pilipinas will depart for Incheon at 2 pm on Saturday, September 20 but they will not be in action until September 23 when they battle the top team in Group B, which will most likely be India or Kazakhstan. Gilas will then face Iran on September 25.
