Qatar looking to forward to playing Gilas Pilipinas

This appears in the Tuesday August 6, 2013 edition of the Business Mirror.

Qatar looking forward to playing Gilas Pilipinas

by rick olivares

Qatari head coach Tom Wisman hoped that the Philippines expended a lot of energy in last Monday evening’s match with Japan that signaled the start of the second round.

“The Philippine team is fast, talented, and can hurt you in many ways,” described Wisman who previously also coached Japan. “They were a little unlucky though against Chinese Taipei.

Wisman’s Qatar team topped Group B in first round play with a 2-0 record while the home team closed out its Group A play with a 84-79 loss to Chinese Taipei for a 2-1 slate.

Against the Philippines in recent FIBA play, the gulf state is 3-0. The most recent clash was the 2012 FIBA Asia Cup where Qatar defeated the Philippines in the battle for third place, 79-63, in Tokyo, Japan. Seven of the Australian coach’s regulars are FIBA veterans were present in that match up. They also took part in the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship in Tianjin, China, where they also defeated the Philippines, 83-65.

Qatar also defeated the Filipinos in the 2003 Asian Championship for Men, 77-69. The gulf state finished the tournament with a 6-2 record behind champion China and runner-up, Korea, while the Philippines limped to a 15^th place finish out of the 16-country tournament.

Current Gilas player Gabe Norwood played on the 2009 team and he scored seven points against Qatar. “We will take our time and really concentrate on tape. This team is different than last year’s team since they now have a wing naturalized player. We need to find a way to limit him. And rebounding will also be key with their height advantage,” noted Norwood of the opponents.

“It’s a different Philippine team today,” said forward Yaseen Musa. “They look better. So it won’t be easy and the home crowd will give them a big lift.”