MANILA -- Team USA is impressed with how much excitement and passion Filipinos are showing for the game of basketball.

"We're really excited to be here we can really feel the passion of the fans wherever we go it's gonna be a big event in the Philippines and we're glad to be part of it," US men's basketball team head coach Steve Kerr said during the FIBA World Cup Team Intro press conference on Thursday.

Team USA is composed of young NBA players like Jalen Brunson, Miles Bridges, Cam Johnson, Tyrese Haliburton and Anthony Edwards to name a few.

• Need for speed as US young guns target FIBA World Cup

While Kerr admits that many members of the team are young and inexperienced, their hunger is what will drive them moving forward.

He explained: "I love coaching these guys. We have a pretty young team but they are hungry and on the rise. We have a really good group who enjoy the process together and working hard everyday."

But Kerr added they won't take any team for granted as most of the countries have improved their lineup and can go toe to toe with anyone.

On Saturday, Team USA will go up against the dangerous New Zealand Tall Blacks at the MOA Arena.

"We're in the midst of putting our game plan for them. We are on the scout so we assign different assistant coaches to each team and Mark Few is scouting them. He's giving us really good intel on them. Some of the things we did in practice are based on how New Zealand plays so we are getting ready for them," Kerr said

Meanwhile, according to New Zealand team captain Reuben Te Rangi, they are ready for Team USA and will treat that game just like any other game.

"Not gonna lie: It's a tough game going up against the best in the world. It's an amazing opportunity, like I said, but we're gonna prepare for them exactly how we're gonna prepare for every team. We're gonna scout them as much as we can. We're gonna try to take away some of the things that they do," he said.

Tall Blacks head coach Pero Cameron and his coaching staff have selected a squad of 14 athletes who traveled to Japan, Germany, and China for their tune-up games in preparation for the FIBA World Cup. They lost to powerhouses Canada and Italy.

But Cameron said facing other teams during tune-up games helped them prepare for the World Cup.

"One of the good things of being out there we've seen them play perform at a high level and given them more time at the internationals just traveling in Asia playing all these games Lebanon, Jordan everywhere and getting that experience playing against different styles and just looking how our style meets them where we need to adjust," he said

Most of the teams have cancelled their official team practices on Thursday.

For more stories on the FIBA World Cup, click here.

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