Published May 14, 2021, 4:34 PM
Gilas 3×3 (Photo from SBP)
Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 made its return to the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna Friday, May 14, for the second phase of preparation for this month’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Joshua Munzon, CJ Perez, Mo Tautuaa, Santi Santillan and Karl Dehesa re-entered the “Calambubble” while Alvin Pasaol will join the team after missing last week’s training bubble due to health and safety protocols.
Also joining the training bubble are Maodu Malick Diouf, Tonino Gonzaga and Agosto Flor, who were invited by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas for a possible scrimmage with the squad.
Published May 14, 2021, 10:30 AM
Pauline Lopez (MB File Photo)
Four national taekwondo jins leave for Amman, Jordan on Friday, May 14, as they seek Tokyo Olympic berths in the Asian Qualification Tournament set May 21 to 22.
Elaine Alora, who competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics, aims for a second shot at the Games when she joins Pauline Lopez, Kurt Barbosa and Arven Alcantara.
Alora will compete in the women’s +73kg division, Lopez in women’s -56kgs, and Barbosa and Alcantara in men’s -58kgs and -68kgs.
Photo from PTA
Accompanied by coaches Caloy Padilla and Dindo Simpao, the team hopes to catch the last bus with less than 10 weeks left before the Olympics scheduled July 23 to Aug. 8.
Published May 12, 2021, 3:40 PM
Dwight Ramos is set to join Gilas Pilipinas in bubble training camp in Calamba, Laguna. (FIBA Images)
Gilas Pilipinas player Dwight Ramos expressed excitement as he is expected to join the bubble training camp inside Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna.
Ramos is still finishing the government-required 14-day quarantine as he recently returned from the United States after being away for five months.
“I’m getting my swab (in a week), after that I’ll go straight at Inspire and start,” Ramos said Tuesday, May 12, as he appeared on the online show Hoops Life hosted by Aaron Atayde and Jino Rufino.
Published May 12, 2021, 3:28 PM
Mo Tautuaa works on his skills during the training bubble of Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 in Calamba, Laguna. (Photo from SBP)
Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 pool member Mo Tautuaa is working on ways to make sure he can hold his own against stiffer competition in this month’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Graz, Austria.
Tautuaa said the competition he experienced during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games is nothing compared to the upcoming OQT where Gilas 3×3 is aiming to secure one of the three slots for the Tokyo Olympics.
“This is going to be the first time we played against this caliber, this level, me and CJ (Perez),” said Tautuaa, who teamed up with Perez, Chris Newsome and Jason Perkins in the Philippines’ run to the men’s 3×3 gold two years ago.
Published May 11, 2021, 4:56 PM
Angelo Kouame shares a light moment with a Gilas teammate during their training bubble at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna. (Photo from Inspire Sports Academy)
Ange Kouame is making sure that he’ll be ready to face South Korea’s Ricardo Ratliffe and Indonesia’s Lester Prosper in the event he makes his debut for Gilas Pilipinas as a naturalized player in next month’s FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in Pampanga.
Kouame, who only needs a signature of President Duterte in order to become a naturalized Filipino, said he’s been studying how to deal with matching up against the two former PBA imports ahead of the third and final window of the continental qualifiers set June 16 to 20.