Gilas Pilipinas V Chinese Taipei Blue: Time, Preview for 2015 William Jones Cup

The Philippines national basketball team continues its preparations for the FIBA Asia Championship with an appearance in the William Jones Cup. The Gilas Pilipinas open play with a clash against one of the sides from the host nation, Chinese Taipei (Blue), on Sunday.

These games are vital as the team attempts to find top form under new head coach Tab Baldwin. The early returns were lackluster, losing all three games in the Toyota Four Nations Cup. The team must now start making some positive strides with the Asian Championship less than a month away.

Let's check out all of the important information for the team's opening game of the tournament. It's followed by a breakdown of some areas to watch as the Philippines seeks improvement.

Game Details

Where: Xinchuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, Taiwan

Date: Sunday, Aug. 30

Time: 7 p.m. CST / 7 a.m. EDT

Preview

Miguel Angel Morenatti/Associated Press

The lowlight for the Philippines in the Toyota Four Nations Cup came in the third quarter against the Netherlands. It allowed 29 points while scoring just four, turning a close game into a blowout and exposing defensive weaknesses other opponents attacked over the final two games.

Although the Gilas Pilipinas played better against Estonia and Iceland, they still lost both games by a combined 20 points. It showed how much work there is left to do in the coming weeks.

Baldwin is happy with the chemistry his team is starting to show, but admits there's a long way to go before they reach peak competitiveness, per Randolph B. Leongson of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

"It's getting better. We're nowhere near where I want us to be and the players recognize that," Baldwin said. "But they also see they're getting better. We're getting more cohesive."

The biggest concerns are on the defensive end. Far too often in the Toyota Four Nations Cup opponents were able to attack the rim and create easy looks. Not only did it allow them to shoot a high percentage, but the Philippines couldn't get the crucial stops when it needed them in the second half.

While Andray Blatche is a crucial part of the team's success on the offensive end, he's never been a highly reliable defender. That said, his impact needs to increase on that end of the floor and he must get help from the likes of Asi Taulava and Joachim Thoss to protect the paint more efficiently.

Beyond that, it comes down to getting back to the fundamentals. Carlo Pamintuan of Spin PH explained what the team needed to improve following the Toyota Four Nations Cup:

The matchup with Chinese Taipei (Blue) starts a run of eight games in eight days for the Philippines. It's a golden opportunity to start taking all of the lessons from the practice court into game action to make a lot of progress in a short period of time.

By the time the William Jones Cup ends it will be a lot easier to forecast what to expect from the Gilas Pilipinas in the Asia Championship. Their play in the preliminary round starts on Sept. 23.