As part of its preparation for the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers set for February, Gilas Pilipinas is slated to engage Qatar, Lebanon, and Egypt in friendly clashes in Doha starting on February 15.
The national team will leave for Doha on February 13, using the training camp as a reunion period for AJ Edu and Jamie Malonzo, who missed out on the previous window due to injuries.
Gilas will square off against Qatar on February 15 at 1:30 a.m., Lebanon later that day at 11 p.m., and Egypt on February 17 at 1:30 a.m. (all Manila time).
Coach Tim Cone had earlier confirmed that Kai Sotto will miss the FIBA Asia Cup tournament due to injury, while Japeth Aguilar will miss the Doha camp for personal reasons. Aguilar is, however, expected to rejoin the team for the qualifiers in February. In his absence, it is most likely that Mason Amos will be called up to the training camp.
After Doha, Gilas will turn its attention to critical away matches against Chinese Taipei and New Zealand later in the month as part of the third window of the qualifiers. No matter the outcome of the games, the Philippines has secured a spot for the FIBA Asia Cup set for this August in Saudi Arabia.
