IT’S “no homecourt advantage, no problem” for the members of the men’s national pool who continue to train inside the Inspire Sports Academy bubble in Calamba, according to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) program director Tab Baldwin on Friday.
“They are fine, the players just keep working. I am really impressed with the work ethic of the players,” Baldwin said. “I am a little bit hopeful that we could be advancing the complexity of our system a little bit more but we have a lot of young players.”
The SBP withdrew from hosting the third window of the International Basketball Federation Asia Cup Qualifiers because of strict travel restrictions.
The third window was scheduled from February 18 to 21 at the Clark bubble. The Qatar basketball federation came to the rescue and accepted the hosting chores in the capital of Doha.
“The players inside the bubble are getting better and morale stays high despite losing their home court advantage in the third window,” Baldwin said. “The coaches are a little bit patient, the PBA [Philippine Basketball Association] players are being very patient. We are certainly getting better.”
The Philippines will play South Korea in Group A on February 18 followed by Indonesia on February 20 and again South Korea on February 22.
Doha will also host Group E composed of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iran and Group B made up of China, Chinese-Taipei, Japan and Malaysia on the same dates.
The PBA players in the Calamba bubble include Kiefer Ravena and Raul Soyud of NLEX, CJ Perez of Terrafirma, Justin Chua of Phoenix and Troy Rosario and Roger Pogoy of TNT.
Also in the bubble are Gilas caders Isaac Go, Kenmark Cariño, Calvin Oftana, Matt and Mike Nieto, Rey Suerte, Javi and Juan Gomez de Liaño, William Navarro, Dave Ildefonso, Justine Baltazar and Dwight Ramos and naturalized candidate Ange Kouame.
Baldwin said the SBP is awaiting for the arrival of 7-foot-3 Zachary “Kai” Sotto from the United States.