Philippines head home after a grueling two-week training camp in Europe that may be costly for the team's preparations for next month's FIBA World Cup following injuries to two key players.
Overall, Gilas Pilipinas went 3-3 from six games played -- beating the Lithuanian Universiade side and the Ukraine under-20 team twice, and losing to the Estonian under-21 team, Finland's Team B, and another Lithuanian team.
Here are some thoughts on the trip and what lies ahead as Gilas head home.
Coaching staff face decisions with Gilas injuries
The big question now for Gilas is the health of the players, both in and out of the pool.
The team suffered a big blow a few days ago after it was announced that Scottie Thompson had suffered a metacarpal fracture in his right hand. Thompson had already missed two previous games due to back spasms, but this injury is far worse.
Then after Gilas' 125-102 win over Lithuania's Universiade team -- which saw only ten players suit up -- coach Chot Reyes revealed that Dwight Ramos had suffered a knee injury, likely in their previous game against another Lithuanian team where he played just three minutes.
Reyes isn't ruling out anyone as of now, and is holding off on speculating until Thompson and Ramos get evaluated.
"They have to rest, and then we have to evaluate," he said in an interview published by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas early Sunday morning (Manila time).
"We have to sit down as a coaching staff. We have to take a look and get the official medical prognosis of Scottie's injury and get an MRI for Dwight's knee as well, because those are very important in the decisions we have to make when we get back to Manila."
With this in mind, the team tapered off the day before the game and the coaching staff juggled the minutes of the remaining players.
"We had to make sure that we were well-rested," Reyes said. "That's why we tapered off yesterday.
"We wanted to make sure that they're too burned out before the game. That's number one.
"And secondly, we made sure that we were rotating the players in and out, giving them short bursts on the floor. But we also wanted to see the level of conditioning. So it was good that we played 12-minute quarters to extend the players."
Aside from Thompson and Ramos, Chris Newsome missed one game with a knee bruise, while AJ Edu didn't play at all as he is still recovering from a severe ankle injury. RR Pogoy, Jordan Heading and Ray Parks all skipped the European trip due to various injuries.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial had previously said that he would sit down with Reyes once the team returns from Europe to talk about the possibility of adding more players to the pool, which now appears more likely to happen.
The good news is, with the PBA On Tour happening, many of the top players are in shape.
Reyes could take a look at guys like Blackwater Bossing's Troy Rosario, NorthPort Batang Pier's Arvin Tolentino, and Magnolia Hotshots' Paul Lee, all of whom are playing at high levels on the Tour.
Additionally, B.League players and former Gilas regulars such as Robert Bolick and Matthew Wright are available.
Objectives met in Europe
The injuries notwithstanding, Gilas did emerge from the European boot camp better than they were a few weeks ago.
The win over the Lithuanian team that will represent the country in the Universiade tournament was played with 12-minute quarters and Gilas was particularly impressive in the third -- holding their hosts to just ten points to build a 25-point lead.
Reyes was very impressed, stressing: "It definitely showed the improvement. What was truly impressive was the effort of the players -- effort to defend, dive for loose balls, but also the effort to play together.
"I think that was very, very important. The defense that we had from game one to game six is really already like night and day. All the work that we put in on our defense is starting to show.
"But we all know that there's still a lot of work to be done. We're still a work in progress, but I must admit that I'm pretty satisfied with our game today."
What's next for Gilas?
The team will take a few days off once they return to Manila, then it's back to the salt mines in preparation for another series of tune-up games in China in late July -- this time against the World Cup-bound national teams of Lebanon, Iran and Senegal.
The team is hoping that Jordan Clarkson and Kai Sotto will be available for these games.
"First is the recovery," Reyes said. "And then after a few days, (we) go back to work practicing in Manila and trying to stay sharp. I think that's the important thing as we continue to grow and develop from the lessons that we learned (in Europe)."
The objective of the European trip was for Gilas to learn to play against the European style, which will come in handy against Italy.
The China trip -- specifically the game against Senegal -- will help prepare for their match-up against African qualifiers Angola.
Reyes had previously said they're trying to arrange a tune-up against a South American country to get ready for their game against the Dominican Republic.