Gilas Men’s, Women’s joint practice at PhilSports Arena on Thursday open to fans

Tim Cone, interim head coach of Gilas Pilipinas, announced that the national men’s and women’s basketball teams will hold a joint practice on Thursday, September 14, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

Cone made the announcement on Tuesday, September 12, via his X account (previously Twitter), emphasizing that the 4:00pm training session will be open to the general public.

“Gilas Men’s Team will have a joint practice with Gilas Women’s Team at Philsports on Thursday, Sept 14. We will share the court and have interactions between both teams. The public is free to come and observe. The gates will open at 4 pm. NO tickets necessary,” tweeted Cone.

Gilas Men's Team will have a joint practice with Gilas Women's Team at Philsports on Thursday, Sept 14. We will share the court and have interactions between both teams. The public is free to come and observe. The gates will open at 4 pm. NO tickets necessary!

— Tim Cone (@manilacone) September 12, 2023

Cone stated in a separate interview that the decision was made to boost the morale of both teams ahead of the Asian games. After the joint practice session, the two squads will even share a private dinner.

“We’re hoping to have a co practice with the women’s Gilas team and then we’ll have a little private event between us and the women’s team, a little dinner or something,” said the PBA’s most successful mentor.

“We want them to feel that we are all part of this going into the Asian games,” he added.

The women’s team, like the men’s, faces an uphill battle in the Asian Games, where they will compete against world heavyweights China, Japan, and Korea. The Chinese are ranked 2nd in the world, while the Japanese and Koreans are ranked 9th and 12th, respectively.

The Filipinas, led by mainstays Jack Animam, Janina Pontejos, and Afril Bernardino, as well as Fil-Am Mai Loni Henson, will take on Kazakhstan on September 27, Hong Kong on the 29th, before concluding their preliminary round schedule against Japan on October 1.

The Men’s team, on the other hand, will face Bahrain on the 26th, Thailand on the 28th and then Jordan on the 30th.