Games Thursday (Wuhan Gymnasium, Wuhan, China)
9 a.m. — Syria vs Jordan
11 a.m. — Chinese Taipei vs Iran
1:30 p.m. — Japan vs Indonesia
3:30 p.m. — Malaysia vs Korea
6 p.m. — Smart-Gilas Pilipinas vs UAE
8 p.m. — Bahrain vs China
(Hongshan Gymnasium, Wuhan, China)
6 p.m. — Qatar vs Uzbekistan
8 p.m. — Lebanon vs India
* Smart-Gilas game against UAE live via AKTV channel 13
WUHAN, China – Philippine team coach Rajko Toroman doesn’t believe all Smart-Gilas has to do is show up to win its opening game against United Arab Emirates on Thursday night.
As the Fiba-Asia Championship comes off the wraps, Toroman is not taking any chances against the very same team Gilas had dealt a 95-60 beating during the Jones Cup in Taiwan last July.
“We have to be very, very serious against UAE,” said Toroman, whose team arrived in this most populous city in Central China Tuesday afternoon – two days before the start of the event that serves as a qualifying tournament for the 2012 London Olympics.
“It’s a very tough, very difficult game because UAE is not a bad team,” warned the Serbian taskmaster.
The match between Smart-Gilas and UAE is set at 6 p.m., a prelude to the main game between host China and Bahrain at 8 p.m.
The four teams are in Group D with the top three – like in the three other groups – will advance to the next round.
“I think that we are a better team, but if we underestimate them, we’ll be in serious trouble,” said Toroman, who will be assisted by former national coach Chot Reyes of Talk ’N Text and Ryan Gregorio of Meralco.
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