Since the announcement that the Philippines will be the co-hosts of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 alongside Indonesia and Japan a lot of fans rejoiced because they knew that the Philippine Men's Basketball National Team also known as Gilas Pilipinas perform well in front of the home crowd. After the announcement, the expectation is high that Gilas Pilipinas will be able to at least progress to the second round or get one win, to say the least.

The preparation is long and tedious Gilas would go abroad to participate in pocket tournaments to hone their skills and most importantly to gel the team. In between fans react to what the team is heading especially in naming the coach of the team which is of course no other than Vincent "Chot" Reyes a famous and brilliant bench tactician from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Vincent "Chot" Reyes is famously known as the coach who guided the 2014 Gilas Pilipinas Team that won against Senegal in the FIBA World Cup 2014 bannered by the then-naturalized player Andray Blatche. Eagled-eyed fans are also talking about the drama surrounding the team particularly the issue of one of the players of the team, Kai Sotto. In response, Vincent "Chot" Reyes, that he is already immune to criticism. Aside from the Sotto debacle fans are also criticizing who will be included included into the team.

As the preparation intensifies fans are glued to the team regarding who will be its naturalized player for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. At the time the team had two choices, Justin Brownlee and the 2021 NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson of the Utah Jazz. Gilas needs firepower so Clarkson was chosen. Clarkson is not just any naturalized player his mother is a Filipina-American.

On August 25, 2023, the FIBA Basketball World Cup of 2023 officially begins and so does the campaign of Gilas with the dream of at least progressing to the next round. Gilas' first game was against the Dominican Republic which defeated Gilas convincingly in their previous match at the 2021 Olympics. I thought Gilas would be blown again by the Dominicans but that is not the case this time. Gilas kept the game close and the Dominicans had to work hard to get the win.

After the loss, Gilas took on Angola with the renewed hope of winning but still, they fell short. The third game will be a must-win for Gilas against Italy, another team that has beaten Gilas before. Before the tip-off, the fans were clearly not pleased about the showing of the team in the previous two losses and they booed the coach, Vincent "Chot" Reyes. Some booing can also be heard in the second game. And my prediction came true, Gilas fell short yet again against the sweet-shooting Italians.

Gilas' third loss eliminated them from the next round. Next for Gilas is the "classification round" alongside the hope of getting the lone Asian Olympic spot for the 2024 Paris Olympics. On the future of Gilas, fans are quick to ask for the resignation of the coach Vincent "Chot" Reyes, clearly, fans were not pleased with how the team played. As opposed to the losses of Gilas in the 2014 edition of the FIBA World Cup the losses in this (2023) edition of the basketball world are not pleasing.

That is all for now guys, catch you up with the next one. Wishing you all safety, good health, and abundance.