THE men’s national team is expected to find itself in a lion’s den when it battles Japan in an away-game in the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Friday.
Reports coming in from Japan said that tickets have been sold out for the Philippines-Japan game at the Komazawa Olympic Park General Sports Gymnasium in Tokyo.
And that means trouble for a Gilas Pilipinas side that crammed in training and only had the luxury of a fews days practice with American reinforcement Andray Blatche who arrived in Manila only last Sunday.
“Knowing that the tickets got sold quickly, I can see a lot of people are paying attention to our game,” Lamas told Fiba.com.
The Philippines and Japan last met in 2015 in Changsa with Gilas winning, 73-66, in the second round and 81-70 in the semifinals. The two countries did not cross paths early this year in Beirut.
The expected mammoth attendance signifies Japan wants nothing less than vengeance.
“The game against Philippines, our very first home game, will be very important in setting the tone for the rest of the qualifiers,” Lamas said.
Former San Miguel Beer Ira Brown is reinforcing the Japanese team which has local stars Joji and Kosuke Takeuchi, Makoto Hiejima and Takuya Kawamura.
Blatche was instrumental in those two victories against Japan and stressed he wants to do it again.
“I’m in great shape because of my stint in China. It’s a quick adjustment for me,” said Blatche, who plays for Xianjiang Flying Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association.
“The main focus is winning so we’ll go to Japan to get a win,” Blatche added.
Gilas Head Coach will announce the final 12 members of his team during the team managers’ meeting on Thursday. The team flies to Tokyo today.
The Philippines is ranked No. 30 in the Fiba rankings, while Japan is No. 50. After Japan, Gilas Pilipinas will host No.57 Chinese Taipei on November 27 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Image credits: Courtesy of Japan Times