National coach Chot Reyes has only 10 days to practice with a complete Gilas team without a single tune-up game before plunging in the Seaba Championships on May 12 to 18 in Manila.
Reyes said the situation was not ideal but he had to adjust since this was better than nothing at all.
The once-a-week Monday practice of the national squad started last week but the final 12 would get together for training only on May 1 because of the PBA All-Star Weekend.
During the All-Star Weekend, which starts on April 26 in Cagayan de Oro, April 28 in Lucena City and April 30 in Cebu City, Gilas will play three exhibition games.
Reyes’ initial plan was to cut the Gilas pool to 15 from 25 and start practicing on April 10, based on the agreement between the PBA and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).
Under the original agreement, Gilas rookies will be released by their respective mother teams 60 days before the start of Seaba Championships and the other players 30 days before the tournament opens on May 12.
But during the PBA Board of Governors consultation meeting, it was agreed that the other players would be released 15 days before the tournament.
This seems to be the reason why coach Chot abandoned his initial plan of trimming the pool of 25 to 15 and eventually decided to name the final 12, exactly 10 days before the tournament.
Coach Chot definitely will rely on his players’ experience and naturalized player Andre Blatche.
Blatche can join Gilas depending on how long the Chinese pro league finals, where his team is playing, will last.
Players not chosen for the Seaba will remain in the pool with the chance to be included in either the Fiba Asia Cup or Southeast Asian Games rosters.