With just a few days to go before the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 qualifiers, there are some concerns emanating from the Gilas Pilipinas camp.
Two members of the pool, Matt Nieto and Dave Ildefonso, have been ruled out of the competition that will be held in Clark, Pampanga due to injury. Nieto, expected to be the team's starting point guard, suffered a broken hand, while Ildefonso is dealing with a bone bruise in his foot.
In the second window, he averaged eight points and four assists, as the Philippine team composed of cadets swept Thailand, 93-61 and 93-69.Nieto played for Baldwin at the Ateneo de Manila University, where they won three UAAP championships together. Upon his graduation, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas selected Nieto in the special round of the PBA Rookie Draft in 2019, making him a full-time member of Gilas Pilipinas.
"He's a fierce competitor who hates to lose and that's contagious in a team environment. We have other players who are competitive but they don't have quite the drive and they don't have the contagious nature that Matt has," he added. "SJ and RJ are both grooming themselves. They've both accepted the role of being leaders," said Baldwin."I don't think there's anyone who could really step into that role in the same way that Matt did," said the coach. "Certainly we still have his brother Mike here, who's a vocal leader and who creates a lot of positive culture for us but on the court it's not the same when Matt is there with the ball in his hand.
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