After a successful buildup in Estonia, Gilas Pilipinas braved an eight-hour land travel to the southern Lithuanian city of Kaunas to open another camp at the training facility of BC Zalgiris, one of the oldest and most successful teams in the Euroleague.
Gilas coach Chot Reyes spearheaded the camp that will serve as a prelude to their goal of playing four quality teams in 10 days as part of their preparation for the FIBA Basketball World Cup that the country will host from 25 August to 10 September.
It seems that they are in the right place as BC Zalgiris serves as the home of big-time European players like Arvydas Sabonis, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Donatas Montiejunas, Darius Songaila, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Boban Marjanovic.
It is also one of Europe’s most decorated clubs with a total of 24 Lithuanian League titles.
Training at the facility of BC Zalgiris gives Reyes and Gilas a strong sense of urgency as they shift their preparation for the prestigious 32-nation tournament to a higher gear.
Among those who showed up in the first workout in Lithuania were naturalized player Justin Bronwlee, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Jamie Malonzo, June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Chris Newsome, Dwight Ramos, Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, Rhenz Abando and AJ Edu.
Reyes said they are looking at holding a twice-a-day training session to fast track their buildup with barely 54 days before the opening tip of the World Cup at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
In fact, they played their first friendly match against a Ukrainian team on Saturday.
“We have four more in Lithuania — at least four more. Four more games in 10 days. Those will be good tests for us,” Reyes said, without elaborating the identities of their opponents in the scheduled friendly matches.
Ramos, who is no longer a stranger to facing European teams, said they have to be ready.
“Teams in Europe, there’s so much going on in the court. Things happen so fast and it will truly test your mind and fundamentals to know what you’re doing,” said Ramos, emphasizing that their preparation period will give them enough time to get ready for the World Cup.
“It’s big. The fact that we’re starting two months before the actual World Cup, I think that’s the most important part because we’ll have time to work on stuff that we need to improve on.”
“With these games (in Estonia and Lithuania), it will expose us more. Just the fact that we started early, that’s the most important thing.”
