And Reyes isn’t hiding where he plans to get those two wins.

“A lot of our efforts are

really poured into preparing for the Dominican Republic and Angola. Those are the
two games we really have to get. But of course, we are still going to talk about Italy,”
Reyes said on Tuesday.
The Samahang Basketbol (SBP) ng Pilipinas, in a Philippine Sportswriters’
Association Forum appearance on Tuesday, weighed in on the significance of those
two victories.
“Our best World Cup performance was with a win in 2014, against Senegal,” SBP
president Al Panlilio said. “We [did not win] anything in [the last World Cup in
China]. I’m hoping we can win two games. If we do that, we get to the next round and
potentially really play for a spot in the Olympics.”
A ticket to Paris 2024 will be available for the best Asian finisher here, which means a
team that gets out of the group stage will have a legitimate shot at skipping tougher
qualifiers ahead.

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But beating the Dominican Republic and Angola will require a near-flawless
performance from Gilas.
The Dominican Republic has named NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns of Minnesota to
its squad.
The return of Thompson and Sotto, however, should bump up the Philippines’
chances.
“We’re finally complete. We now have 16 guys in practice,” Reyes said. “Scottie
seems OK, but I’m sure both of them are not yet in hundred percent basketball
competitive shape,” he went on. “Hopefully, we have 10 days to be able to make up
for that.”

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olympic-bids-in-motion#ixzz8AYpOrOYl
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