By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team is off to a great start this year after rising a rank higher in the recently released FIBA World Ranking on March 4, 2024.
After ending up with a 38th-place finish following their FIBA World Cup campaign last year, the Filipino hoopers just improved to a new world ranking of no. 37.
Gilas achieved the feat after sweeping the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers last week against Hong Kong and Chinese-Taipei.
The national team began its quest against Hong Kong and immediately grabbed a convincing victory after crushing them, 94-64.
Despite the newly formed Gilas core under the helm of head coach Tim Cone, the squad quickly surpassed the expectations of the majority after displaying impressive chemistry.
The proof was Gilas’ 33 assists after the game, their highest passing output on the international stage in a decade.
After decimating Hong Kong, Gilas topped it off with a demolition exhibition over Chinese-Taipei in front of their home fans.
Gilas was in the zone and was hitting shot after shot to annihilate Chinese-Taipei by 53 points, 106-53, last February 25, 2024.
The Filipinos tore a page of their playbook against Hong Kong and replicated its crisp ball movement against Chinese-Taipei.
For the second-straight outing, Gilas reached 30 assists, a tremendous achievement for a 40-minute duration game at the FIBA level.
Currently, the national team is taking their well-deserved rest before they jump back into action on July 3, 2024, for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
