Gilas Pilipinas is getting a helping hand from a Lithuanian coach in its ongoing buildup for the FIBA Basketball World Cup that the country will host from 25 August to 10 September.
Virginijus Sirvydis has been helping Gilas head coach Chot Reyes as well as assistant coaches Tim Cone and Jong Uichico in whipping the Filipinos into fighting form heading into the crucial stretch of their preparation for the prestigious 32-nation tourney.
The 49-year-old Sirvydis has a great grasp of the European brand of basketball.
After getting undrafted in the 1995 National Basketball Association Draft, Sirvydis returned to Europe to campaign in the Euroleague and the Lithuanian Basketball League.
Upon his retirement, he embarked into coaching while his son, Deividas, was taken by the Dallas Mavericks with the 37th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
The young Sirvydis, who played 23 games in the NBA regular season before being relegated to the NBA G League, is currently training with the Lithuanian team for the upcoming World Cup.
Gilas Pilipinas is tipped to be at its best when it sees action in two more friendly matches, one of them against Jonava, a Division 1 team in the Lithuanian league coached by Sirvydis.
‘We would train in Ukraine, but sometimes the games would be stopped because of the situation. There would be alarms when there are bombs.’
In their previous game against the Ukrainian U20 squad, Gilas played with fire in their eyes to book an 84-74 victory.
What made their game very memorable were the stories narrated by the Ukrainian players whose friends and families were affected by war.
“It was a good experience for us playing against professional players, so thank you,” Liev Koshevatskyi, one of the Ukrainian standouts, said.
“We would train in Ukraine, but sometimes the games would be stopped because of the situation. There would be alarms when there are bombs.”
Reyes paid tribute to the courage displayed by the young Ukrainians, who continued to pursue their passion of playing the game they love, while encouraging his team to pick up some lessons from their previous friendly matches.
“You should appreciate what you have,” Reyes, who also welcomed the return of naturalized player Ange Kouame, told his players.
“Look at them, their families, they’re at war. They’re practicing and sometimes the alarms go off and they would stop and run underground. Whatever we’re going through, but compared to those guys, what they’re going through.”
“What I’ve learned is that one of the ways to go through adversities is to always be grateful. The power of gratitude and be appreciative of what you have. It could be gone like that. For these young players, it’s one way of honoring their country, representing Ukraine in the international basketball stage.”
