Bobby Parks and Kiefer Ravena are among those who will be forgoing a chance to go pro for the GIlas cadets program. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Kiefer Ravena and Bobby Ray Parks are part of a talented pool of collegiate stars which will be passing up an opportunity to go pro and instead join the upcoming revival of the original Gilas Pilipinas cadet program.
A source close to the situation revealed that aside from Ravena and Parks, seven players have already committed to the cadets program which from which the Philippines will be getting its national team pool as Fiba adopts a new calendar and competition system starting 2017.
Joining Ravena and Parks are UST star Kevin Ferrer, FEU standouts Mac Belo, Mike Tolomia, Roger Pogoy, and Russel Escoto, Arellano playmaker Jiovani Jalalon and Ateneo shooter Von Pessumal, who are part of the champion team in the recently-concluded SEABA Cup.
With the new program, the prospects have to forgo entering the upcoming 2016 PBA Draft, delaying their entry to the pro league until 2019 if Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas manages to secure a three-year commitment from them to stay with the national team.
In an interview with InterAksyon, SBP chairman Manny V. Pangilinan said that the players have agreed to the terms and the basketball-governing body is in the process of finalizing the deal.
earlier shared that the development, as he said, “We have at least 14 names for the Gilas cadets. We’ve spoken to all of them. All of them have consented. So we’re finalizing the documentation for them.”
More names are expected to come up in the coming days, with SBP eyeing some players who are still in school to be included to the pool in the future.
The formation of a Gilas cadets pool may be the perfect set-up amid drastic change in the Fiba calendar.
Fiba will now institute a four-year cycle, where home-and-away series between nations will be played in specific competition windows where they will obtain points for qualification for the 2019 Fiba World Cup in China, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and the continental championships in 2021. The system is similar to what is used by Fifa.
Some of these windows will fall during the PBA season, deeming the professional players unavailable for national team duty.
In an earlier interview, Gilas team manager Butch Antonio admitted that the SBP is exploring its options for the continuity of the national team without professional players throughout the year without preempting any formal announcements.
“We’re trying to finetune some plans for the cadet program and me and coach Tab (Baldwin) are still devising it, but we’ll make the necessary announcements as soon as it’s hashed out,” he said.
INQUIRER.net tried to get the side of Antonio but he could not be contacted as of posting time.
Coach Tab Baldwin also shed some light on the plans, saying that creating the Gilas cadet program is “very complex.”
“All I did was collect a group of selectors who knew the age bracket well,” he continued. “Of course, I knew some from the SEA Games, but we’re still looking at it.”
Baldwin has already allowed some of the players to participate in Gilas’ practice sessions.
Ravena and Parks have been regularly joining the Gilas drills, while Ferrer, Belo, Pogoy, and Escoto have all taken the court with the pool during its Monday practices before they started their own buildup for the Seaba tournament under Gilas assistant coach Nash Racela. Their infusion to the squad also allowed the American-Kiwi mentor to have more manpower in the training sessions which has been hit hard by injuries and absences.
When asked on his stand on the proposal, Ravena admitted his willingness to momentarily postpone his plans to go pro, saying, “Of course, it’s country over everything.”