DESPITE the sound 55-point beating that India suffered from the hands of New Zealand in yesterday’s FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, the Philippines isn’t falling to the trap of complacency.

Bracing from a big Indian rebound from a 46-101 loss to the Tall Blacks to open their second window campaign in Group A, the Gilas crew is ready for what their South Asian opponents could offer today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Tip off is at 6 p.m.

“They’re a tall team, well coached and they’ve been together for a long time. A couple of guys there, we’ve seen them for 10 to 11 years, so they’ve been together for a decade already,” said comebacking national coach Chot Reyes.

“You can imagine the kind of chemistry and familiarity they’ve built with each other. That alone is a cause for us to make sure that well take our best to be able to compete against them,” he added.

Despite the huge discrepancy of both teams in terms of world rankings, with the Philippines sits at No. 33 and India in 80th spot, Reyes knows the visitors’ strengths and capabilities.

“No. 1 is [India’s] size. They’ve had over the years right before our eyes, we’ve seen India develop and grow into a legitimate basketball competitor,” said Reyes.

With an average height of 6-foot-6, 7-foot-2 center Princepal Singh, formerly of the NBA G League Ignite team, lead the Indians, who are handled by Serbian mentor Veselin Matic.

“Their skills have tremendously improved and with the way coach Matic is with them, we’re very certain that they’re going to be well coached and well prepared. That’s the thing I told our team, we have to completely be ready for a very tough team against India,” said Reyes.

Gilas is 18-4 all-time against India, although the last time the two teams met, India posted a stunning 91-83 victory over the Philippines in the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge in Tehran, Iran.

As of late yesterday afternoon, Gilas has yet to name its final 12 against the Indians.

With Tom Vodanovich and Rob Loe combining for 29 first half points to outscore the entire Indian squad, the Tall Blacks put the game beyond recall by racing to a 52-25 advantage at the break.

Vodanovich had 21 points, four rebounds and three assists to lead New Zealand, Ethan Rusbatch had 18 points, while Loe finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Sahaij Pratap Singh Sekhon was the lone player in twin digits for India with 10 points. Vishesh Bhriguvanshi chipped in eight points while Princepal Singh scored seven markers.

The Philippines was supposed to face long-time nemesis South Korea to set in motion its second window campaign last night.

But FIBA on Wednesday night was informed by Korea Basketball Association (KBA) of its decision not to travel to the Philippines due to the COVID-19 situation of the squad.

“The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) has formally received word from FIBA that Korea can no longer send a team to compete in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 – Asian Qualifiers hosted in the Philippines this week,” said SBP President Al Panlilio in a statement.

“We at the SBP commiserate with our friends from Korea as we know how difficult it is to deal with COVID-19. The SBP hopes that all the members of the team who caught the virus will get well at the soonest time possible,” he added.

SBP has assured the safety of the so-called Araneta bubble.

“We’ve worked hard to provide a safe venue as hosts for Windows 1 and 2 in Group A and we are looking forward to hosting and playing against India and New Zealand,” said Panlilio.