#GilasGritAndGrind: Gilas Women already touched down in Auckland for the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers

Gilas Pilipinas Women have already arrived in Auckland, New Zealand last Tuesday, November 12 as they gear up for the first stage of the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament which will be held down under starting on November 14.

Head Coach Patrick Aquino and the ladies arrived there after almost 10 hours of flying, as they were greeted to the appreciative Filipinos based there in which they have promoted the games well.

"I'm happy that the NZ Pinoys are really looking forward that we'll been playing there," he said in a statement. "It's a good help for us that they will be cheering for us. Medyo excited kami that hopefully that we could do well."

Having retained their Division 1 status in FIBA Women's Asia Cup in India last month, Gilas Women will open their campaign against the Tall Ferns who are hosting Group A, with tip-off slated at 2:30 PM Manila Time at the Trusts' Arena.

Ranked 50 in the world, the Filipinas will bank on their youth movement, yet they already played together as a team since 2017, with Janine Pontejos and France Cabinbin the oldest at 27 with an average age of 24.

With Aquino at the helm, Jose Ramon Garcia of Claret is his lead assistant, and they will be joined by UE's Aileen Libornio, and Mark Solano as everyone from their FIBA Women's Asia Cup squad returned for another tour of duty, with former UP Lady Maroon Bea Daez the most notable cager missing, leaving only eleven players.

Pontejos hopes to improve their scoring as she brings her 10.5 points per game average in Bangalore the last time out, backstopping Afril Bernardino who averages a shade under 12 per outing.

(Photo credits - Cover by SBP, training by J3ylo Photography)