Reigning three-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo, 10 other PBA stars plus naturalized player Andray Blatche form the latest Gilas Pilipinas assembly that starts chase of a FIBA World Cup stint as they face Japan at the Komazawa Gymnasium in Tokyo on Friday.
The Filipinos and the Japanese clash at 6 p.m. Japan time both looking for a triumphant start in the reformatted qualifying series for the next World Cup slated in 2019 in China.
Team Phl seeks to stretch domination of Japan to set the tone of its campaign for a return trip to the World Cup after a decent stint in the recent edition of the quadrennial meet in Spain in 2014.
The Philippines has yet to lose against Team Nippon since Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas' assumption of authority as the national cage federation.
In 2015 in the Asian meet in Changsha, Blatche and his teammates, under coach Tab Baldwin, clobbered the Japanese twice - first in group play then in the semifinal round.
Sponsored content: Chot Reyes is back at the helm as Gilas shoots for a sixth straight win since Team Phl suffered a last defeat at the hands of the Japanese in 2004.
Other major players at Reyes' disposal are Japeth Aguilar, Jason Castro, Calvin Abueva, Gabe Norwood, Allein Maliksi, Troy Rosario, Matthew Wright and incoming PBA rookie Kiefer Ravena.
Other Gilas pool players brought to Japan are Raymond Almazan, Kevin Alas, Carl Bryan Cruz, Mac Belo and RR Pogoy.
At posting time, Reyes had yet to name his Final 12.
A concern is a slew of health problems.
Sponsored content: Almazan is nursing an ankle sprain sustained in practice Sunday while Castro, Abueva and Alas have been in and out of training with their respective health problems.
Reyes is thankful he's got a pool of players still made available by their mother teams despite a conflict in the PBA board.
"Basically that's the beauty of having a pool for situations that you can't avoid - injuries, sickness," he said.
And Reyes senses good vibes on the all-out effort each player is putting up in training.
"I like our chances because I can see despite the injuries and lack of time, I can see them putting a lot of effort in, and they're very engaged," he said.
