ALLAN THE MAN

Gilas Pilipinas' Japeth Aguilar Dunks on France & Indiana Pacers' Ian Mahinmi on their friendly tune-up game. WATCH VIDEO BELOW:

The Philippine national men's basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas, served notice ahead of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup after dropping a hard-fought 75-68 result to European champion France in Antibes on Friday (Saturday PHL time).

Apart from playing on home soil, the French team is bannered by Boris Diaw, Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, Ian Mahinmi, and Nando De Colo among others with NBA experience.

WATCH Gilas Pilipinas vs France Tune Up Game REPLAY VIDEO Below:

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For the Philippine national basketball team (Gilas Pilipinas),  it’s home away from home in Spain where Gilas will play at the FIBA World Cup starting Aug. 30 after a 36-year absence from the global stage. The estimate is about 5,000 Filipinos will storm the stands at the 7,000-seat Palacio Municipal de Deportes San Pablo in Seville for the Group B round-robin competition involving Croatia, Greece, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Senegal and the Philippines.

Philippine Ambassador to Spain Carlos Salinas said some 40,000 to 50,000 Filipinos live in Spain and he plans to mobilize the residents to cheer for Gilas in Seville. If the Philippines finishes in the top four of Group B, Gilas will advance to the next round in Madrid.

Gilas Pilipinas forward Marc Pingris said he is not intimidated by France’ imposing size nor by its lineup of NBA stars, pointing out that basketball is not played man for man but is a five-man game. 

“Laro lang, di naman ako mag-isa maglalaro. Lima kami, so usap na lang sa depensa sa loob,” Pingris told Spin ahead of Gilas' match against France kicking off of the 2014 Antibes International Basketball Tournament on Friday (Saturday Manila time) at the Azur Arena in Antibes, France. 

The Philippine national youth basketball team looked impressive in mounting a late challenge but ultimately fell short against Argentina, 84-71, in the classification round of the FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Dubai, UAE.

The Batang Gilas team dropped a fifth straight assignment but gave a glimpse of some of their finest play so far after connecting on seven three-pointers in the fourth quarter to give their South Americans foes a late scare.

WATCH ARGENTINA vs PHILIPPINES REPLAY VIDEO BELOW: