Tempo
Date: Sep. 11, 2015

Gilas Pilipinas grabs whatever little time is left to fine-tune its machine for the Olympic qualifying FIBA Asia Championship when it wraps up training today with the three-country, four-team Master Game Face MVP Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Wellington Saints of New Zealand and Chinese-Taipei debut at 4:15 p.m, while Gilas Pilipinas takes on Talk ‘N Text and its prized rookies Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario at 7 p.m.

Pruned down to a final 12 a few days ago, Gilas will shoot for a berth in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro against the region’s powerhouses, including defending champion Iran, longtime nemesis South Korea and host China, in Changsha.

The Tropang Texters offered their services in the MVP Cup after Lebanon, which earlier confirmed its participation, withdrew at the last minute with nary a justifiable explanation, upsetting all pre-tournament preparations.

Talk ‘N Text then face the Taiwanese tomorrow at 3 p.m., while New Zealand battles the Philippines at 5 p.m. Final day matches on Sunday feature the Kiwis against the Tropang Texters at 3 and the Taiwanese against Gilas at 5 p.m.  The FIBA Asia Championship is set from Sept. 23 to Oct. 3.     [FULL  STORY]